Summer Bash
by Willowsnake
Summary: Sequel to A Business Plan. Taking place the next day, the gang finds themselves out for summer vacation! With Joey's recovery, Jaden's birthday party, and the Yamis having their first summer vacation ever, what can go wrong? Why, everything of course! REVISED!
1. Monday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Summary**: Sequel to A Business Plan. Taking place the next day, the gang finds themselves out for summer vacation! With Joey's recovery, Jaden's birthday party, and the Yamis having their first summer vacation ever, what can go wrong? Why, everything of course!

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Monday**

Joey…was…pissed. And not the 'give me a few minutes to cool off' pissed. He was the 'get the fucking hell away from me before I kill you, cut you up into itty bitty pieces and feed you to the sharks' pissed.

And it had all started with yesterday. Seto had been so sweet and understanding. He'd been romantic, considerate, and thoughtful. Then he had to go and screw it all up!

When Seto said that he'd help him on his way to recovery, Joey had expected him to help him through his physical therapy and aid him in getting around when he needed help. NOT TREAT HIM LIKE SOME HELPLESS ANIMAL!

Ever since their conversation yesterday, Seto had been pampering him. And not in the good way, either. The brunet wouldn't let him move on his own, he wouldn't let him eat on his own, and he wouldn't even let him go to the bathroom on his own! Not only this, but Serenity and Mokuba kept asking him if he needed anything nearly every five minutes! And when Jaden caught on, he started doing it, too!

By that time, Joey had had enough. And he told everyone to back off and leave him alone. They'd done just that and here he was, sitting on the goddamn bed, fuming about Seto's behavior. The brunet was acting like he couldn't take care of himself! He knew Seto meant well, but enough was enough!

Joey stewed over his situation, debating on whether to grab his crutches. What Seto didn't know was that he'd gained more strength in his legs than he'd realized. He could easily move around with the assistance of the crutches. But Seto didn't know that. If he saw him moving around on the crutches, the brunet would probably freak and immediately confiscate the crutches and say that he wasn't ready to use them.

The blond huffed. It was _his _body. _He _would know what he could handle or not. But how would he convince Seto of that?

Reaching for the packet his doctor had given him on leg strengthening exercises, Joey scanned through them while trying to figure out a way to get Seto to relax. And then it hit him.

Most of the exercises in his packet he'd completed yesterday after he'd chased Seto away. There were only two left that he hadn't done because he thought they were a little…strange for physical therapy. But now that he took a closer look at the images, he deduced that this would be the perfect way to get Seto to know he was healthy…and fully functional.

* * *

Seto approached their bedroom door slowly. He's slept on the couch last night. And it had been _very _lonely. The only company he'd had was the irritating fly that kept buzzing around his head in the middle of the night. He'd spent three hours trying to kill the damn thing. After he thought he'd killed it, the fly had resurrected itself and started buzzing around his head again. In other words…he didn't get very much sleep.

He knocked lightly on the door. "Puppy? May I come in?" he asked softly. Seto tried to keep the pleading to a minimum. He hadn't meant to get so…overboard yesterday. All he'd wanted to do was help his Puppy, but it hadn't worked out as he'd planned.

"Come in," Joey replied from behind the door.

Opening it hesitantly, Seto stepped into the room and saw Joey sitting on the bed just…_staring_ at him.

"I…came to apologize for my behavior yesterday," started the brunet slowly. "I didn't mean to get so…clingy and freaked out. I was just afraid that you'd hurt yourself if you did too much."

"Seto, I want ya to know that I _will _ask for your help when I need it. I'm not…stubborn enough to think I can do everythin' on my own right now. So…I accept your apology," replied Joey.

Not being able to hide the smile that came to his face, Seto approached the blond happily, hugged him, and kissed him with all his might.

Joey had to stifle his laughter. His Dragon was just too cute sometimes. Pushing him away, he said, "Can ya help me with the rest of my exercises today?"

"What do you mean the rest?" Seto asked, puzzled.

"After I told everyone to leave me alone yesterday, I started workin' on most of my leg strengthenin' exercises. I'm not as weak as I thought I was. When I started doin' some of them, the strength just sort of came back. I can move around with the crutches now," he explained.

Seto had paled with every word. "You…did what? But what if you'd hurt yourself or something? I wouldn't have been here to—"

"I _knew _you'd do this," Joey interrupted, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. "_Nothin' _bad happened, Seto. I'm fine. I _know_ that ya care about me, but yesterday ya got to the point of bein' smotherin'. I don't like bein' treated as if I'm incapable of takin' care of myself. I'm _aware_ of what my body is capable of and I wouldn't do anythin' to jeopardize my recovery. _Ya _know that…don't ya?"

"I…I know that. I was just…scared, I guess."

Joey sighed, bringing a hand up to stroke Seto's cheek. "Yadon't have to be scared. If somethin's botherin' ya, talk to me. You'd want me to do the same with ya, right?"

Seto nodded. Clearing his throat in a means to push away the mushy way this conversation was going—if they talked about this anymore, he might cry, and he couldn't do that in front of his Puppy in this state—he moved onto something else. "So, you wanted me to help you with your exercises?"

The blond smirked inwardly. "Yeah. Can ya grab the packet on the nightstand? I only have two left and I guess I'll do them on the bed. All I need ya to do is describe what I have to do, and I'll do it."

Making for the packet, the brunet flipped through it absentmindedly until he found the page with the two remaining exercises. "For this one, you need to lie on your back, bend both knees, and keep your feet flat on the bed."

"And then what?" asked Joey when he did so.

"Then you're going to…" Seto's voice trailed off when he read the next part…and he gulped.

"I'm gonna what?"

"You're going to…lift your bottom up and down," replied the brunet, his mouth going dry.

"Like I'm thrustin' upward?" his Puppy inquired innocently.

"Yes," Seto…squeaked. He could feel his pants tightening already and Joey hadn't even _done _anything yet.

And then the blond started lifting his bottom up and down…up and down…up and down. Seto was mesmerized by the motion of his Puppy thrusting his pelvis up in the air, panting ever so slightly with the effort.

"I think…that's enough of that one for now," Joey said, resting his body back on the bed. He noticed Seto staring at him with a flustered expression on his face. "What's the next one?"

The blond's voice jolted him out of his reverie, nearly making him tear the packet in two. He hastily looked down at the next exercise, stifling a groan in the process. His Puppy was going to kill him. And not in the intentional way, either.

"You need to go on your hands and knees now," Seto stuttered, trying to avert his eyes, but Joey's cute ass was too hard to look away from.

"Then what?" asked the blond, tossing his head over his shoulder, making him look absolutely erotic.

"Then…you'll…gently rock forward and back," the brunet muttered, lowing the packet over his groin area. If he got any harder, the seams of his pants would burst.

And then Joey started rocking forward and back…forward and back…forward and back. He gasped whenever he moved forward and inhaled sharply when he moved back. Almost like when they had—

"How long…should I…do this for?" Joey panted.

"Until…"

"Until?"

"I cum…I mean you're done! You're done!" Seto exclaimed frantically, hoping Joey hadn't heard what he'd said.

The blond stopped and sat back on his heels, but he didn't turn around. "Can ya come over here for a minute, Seto?"

The brunet gulped and made his way over to the bed.

"Lie down," Joey demanded.

"Why?" Seto responded quickly.

"Just do it. Please?" He knew his Dragon couldn't resist the puppy-eyes, so when he used them, he knew he'd won. And when Seto lay down on the bed, he smirked. "Are ya ready for _your _exercises?" inquired the blond as he straddled Seto's hips.

His Dragon balked. "Puppy—"

"How much _control_ do you have, Seto?" asked the blond, grinding his crotch into Seto's. He grinned when he already found him hard. "How long can ya _last_?"

Seto couldn't believe it. His Puppy was being…aggressive, controlling, and…oh, so sexy while doing it. "You said…ah, not to uhn…have sex."

"And we're not gonna."

The brunet bucked his hips into Joey, making them both moan. "Then why—"

"Ya want me, don't ya?" his Puppy teased. "Ya want to drive yourself into me, makin' me helpless, cryin' in want of ya, don't ya? Don't ya?"

"Yes!" Seto cried. He didn't think he could hold on much longer at the rate his Puppy was going.

"Ya like being in control, too," the blond whispered against his neck, sucking and nipping at him.

"I only want to please you," Seto gasped. "I love you, Puppy. I love you."

"I love ya, too, Dragon," replied Joey passionately as he kissed him just as fervently.

And then his Puppy…just rolled off of him and laid down next to him on the bed, leaving a very aroused and confused Seto Kaiba in his wake. That was it? That couldn't be it!

"Why'd you stop?" questioned Seto almost immediately. He turned to face Joey, but then noticed he looked…tired. "Are you all right?"

"That took more energy than I'm willin' to admit, so yes, I'm fine," he replied.

Seto grew worried. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

Joey shook his head.

"Do you want to…talk?"

He nodded and curled up next to him, sighing in…relief?

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Where were ya last night?" Joey asked meekly.

"I…I was sleeping on the couch. You were so mad yesterday that I thought I'd leave you alone until you were ready to come to me."

"I couldn't have come to ya even if I'd wanted to, Seto. I'm not ready to take on stairs yet," said Joey, half jokingly. "I couldn't sleep last night when ya weren't here."

"Then why didn't you ask someone to fetch me?"

"I was too mad at everyone and upset that ya guys kept treatin' me so…smotherin'ly."

"Smotheringly isn't a word, Puppy."

"It is now."

"Is that why you're so tired right now? Because you couldn't sleep last night?"

Joey nodded, burying his face in Seto's chest. "Don't leave again," he mumbled. "If we have arguments, so be it. Just don't leave me alone like that again."

"I won't leave again. I promise," he said, stroking the blond's hair. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't sleep last night, either. And you having your way with me this morning didn't help. What was that all about, anyway?"

His Puppy blushed a little bit before answering. "I wanted to show ya that I was feelin' better and could take care of myself…_and _ya."

Seto chuckled. "Well, I guess I learned my lesson then. Would you like to take a nap? We can take one together."

Joey smiled. "Okay."

Yawning, he snuggled closer to his Dragon and dozed off, Seto a few seconds behind him.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	2. Tuesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Tuesday**

"Why?" Seto whined, stomping his foot like a kid who was denied getting a toy.

"I'm…just not sure it's a very…_safe _idea," Joey replied slowly. It was weird seeing his Dragon act so…childishly.

"But this is such a good theme!" the brunet argued.

"Well, yeah, it is…but I'm just thinkin' about the Yamis. They might…get a bit…overexcited." The blond knew this wouldn't end well.

Especially when Seto got down on his knees and started begging. "Please, Puppy? Please? It's my dream birthday party."

"Ya _do _remember this party is for Jaden, right?"

The brunet paused. "I know that…but I never got to have a birthday party when I was little and I just want Jaden to have a memorable one."

Oh, it'd be memorable all right. Joey sighed. Why did Seto have to look so cute right now? Apparently, he wasn't the only one who could pull off the puppy-eyes. Perhaps he'd revealed too much to his brunet lover; he was starting to use his tactics against him.

"Fine," Joey relented. He knew this was a bad idea, but what choice did he really have?

"Thank you, Puppy!" the brunet exclaimed as he hugged him abruptly, nearly knocking him off his crutches.

And then Seto just…skipped away.

"Um…what's Seto so happy about?" Mokuba questioned hesitantly, slightly unnerved when he entered the room. He was a bit shaken up when he saw his brother skipping down the hall with a big grin on his face.

"I kind of let Seto pick the theme for Jaden's birthday party," started the blond.

"What did he pick?"

"…Pirates."

* * *

Joey set down the crutches on the couch in the living room. Seto had been gone for some time, so the blond had decided to try moving around without the help of the crutches. Taking his time, he moved slowly, getting used to the feel of supporting himself again. And that's when he heard the big thud coming from the foyer.

Shutting his eyes, he braced himself and counted to ten before leaving the room. That just _had _to have been Seto.

When he reached the foyer, he halted. His Dragon stood next to a box that was nearly as tall as him.

"Seto?" Joey called out incredulously.

"Hi, Puppy!" the brunet responded cheerfully.

"I'm afraid to ask, but what's in the box?" Did he _really _want to know?

"Just a few things for Jaden's party."

"A _few _things? Seto, this box is probably as big as a car. How'd ya even get it inside, anyway?" retorted the blond.

"I opened both doors. Or did you forget the grand entrance to the mansion?" he replied with a smirk.

Ignoring the comment, Joey asked, "Can ya be a little more specific as to what's in the box?"

Seto didn't have to hear that twice, because he ripped the box open almost immediately. "I bought the Ultimate Pirate Party Pack!"

"I…kind of figured that by the size of the box."

"Everything in here is pirate themed! I've got invitations for our friends that I'll send out this afternoon along with a pirate costume for each of them to wear to the party tomorrow. There are also pirate plates, cups, luncheon napkins, a cutlery set, a table cover, rolls of streamers in red and blue, balloons in the same color, and packages of confetti."

"That's it?" Joey inquired hopefully.

"Nope. I've also got frosted pirate suckers, pirate tattoos, a pirate balloon set, pirate visor craft kits, pirate bandannas, treasure chest treat boxes, plastic gold coins, a pirate piñata with a stick and the candy and toy assortment, and pirate swords and eye patches," finished the brunet.

"Swords?" Joey gasped.

"They're made out of foam," Seto elaborated. "I thought that…maybe Bakura, Marik, Yami and I could put on a little…pirate show for Jaden or something. We'll all be in costume and I just…I want everyone to have fun."

"Okay…but can ya just explain it for me a bit more?" The blond didn't want to damper Seto's mood; he just wanted to make sure that this would actually be a _fun _birthday party and not a disastrous one.

"Well…I wanted to set up everything near the pool. The weather's been really warm, so I thought it'd be the best spot. With the shaded patio right next to it, we can set up tables and chairs and _really_ decorate. And we can barbeque. I…kind of got carried away and ordered a lot of food."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "How much food?"

"Have you seen the outdoor grill setup we have out there? It's like an outdoor kitchen! I couldn't resist when I went out!"

"How much food?" the blond repeated.

Seto fidgeted. "I got hotdogs…and burgers…and steaks…and ribs…and chicken…and—"

"I get the idea," Joey interrupted. A lot of food was right. He'd probably be able to feed all of Domino at this rate. "Who's cookin'?"

His Dragon paled. He'd forgotten about that part. What had he been thinking? He couldn't cook!

"Seto, don't look so worried," laughed the blond. "I'll handle the barbeque. Are we gonna have ice cream with the cake, too?"

"Cake?" Seto looked lost.

"Ya mean…ya didn't order Jaden a birthday cake?"

"Oh, shit!" the brunet hissed, fumbling around to find his cell phone.

Joey just shook his head. Tomorrow was going to be a lot of fun. Whether it was actually going to be the party or just watching Seto getting everything organized, he didn't know…but he couldn't wait to find out.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	3. Wednesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Wednesday**

Joey stared at the lavishly decorated patio. Their friends hadn't arrived yet, so he thought it would be the perfect time to…_inspect_ the area.

It was hot today, verging on scorching. Thank goodness the tables and chairs were underneath the awning. The barbeque grill rested near the edge. Streamers in various colors were wrapped around nearly everything, confetti lay strewn on the tables along with paper treasure chests filled with all sorts of party favor goodies.

Now, if he could only find those stupid swords…

"Pup, don't you think you should get changed? Our friends will be here soon."

The blond turned to face Seto and nearly fell over in shock. His Dragon was dressed in a pirate outfit. But not just _any _pirate outfit. He was dressed as a buccaneer captain…and a pretty hot one at that. The pants hugged his legs, showing off the muscles that were beneath, the ruffled shirt showed off a bit of his torso, and the hat…the hat made him want to laugh.

"Ya fit the part nicely," chuckled Joey.

"Just wait until you see my crew," Seto grinned lecherously.

"What crew?" The blond did _not _like the way this was going.

"You'll see later," he smirked. Seto walked up to Joey and pulled him into his arms. "Now, my little Pirate Queen, go get dressed."

"Pirate Queen?" Joey echoed. "Ya didn't!"

"Didn't what?" the brunet inquired innocently.

"Ya got me a girl pirate outfit, didn't ya?"

"It's quite possible."

"Then I'm not wearin' it."

"Yes, you will. This is Jaden's big day. What will he think if his Daddy doesn't want to take part in this special day with him? Plus, I'll get to have a nice view of your legs."

"Jerk," Joey mumbled, trudging back into the mansion.

When he finally reached their bedroom, he noticed that his pirate costume was already out on the bed and…it _was _a girl one. He glared at the costume for a full minute before taking off is clothes.

"What the hell?" he said, picking up the first part of the costume. At least he was the type of person to shave his legs often.

He slipped into a white ruffle skirt dress and blushed when it reached midway down his thighs. Next, he put on the black leather corset over it. Reaching for the knee high boots, and thankful they weren't heels, he put those on, too. When that was done, he put on the black pirate hat and strapped the plastic pirate sword around his waist.

Walking over to the dresser, Joey eyed himself in the mirror and gaped. If he went out there looking like this, Seto would take him on the spot. Hopefully his lover had a little more self-control than that.

Leaving the bedroom, the blond made his way down the stairs just in time to see Jaden running toward him dressed in his own costume. He wore a simple pair of pants and shirt with a bandanna on his head.

"Daddy! I'm a pirate!" the small boy exclaimed.

Joey laughed. "I can see that," he said as the doorbell rang. "Looks like our party guests are here. Do ya wanna come with me and let them in?"

"Okay!"

Picking up Jaden, Joey went to answer the door. Upon opening it, he was nearly accosted by…pirates.

"Arrgh!" Bakura and Marik shouted, bursting into the mansion. Yami bolted after them. All wearing pirate costumes.

"Joey! You look adorable!" squealed Tea. Joey noticed that her costume was a little more…decent.

"Thanks," the blond replied unsurely. "Come on in, ya guys."

"Are those for me?" Jaden asked pointing at the presents the rest of his friends held.

"Yep!" answered Yugi cheerfully.

"Where should we put these?" inquired Ryou.

"Ask the captain," Joey muttered, leading them through the mansion and out onto the patio. "Oh, Captain Seto!"

Said brunet turned when he heard that; figures he would respond to 'captain.' But when he saw Joey, his jaw dropped. "You look _really _nice, Puppy."

The blond raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Let's just keep this PG. Where do ya want them to set the presents?"

"The table over there is just fine," replied Seto, pointing to the one that had a few presents on it already.

Joey set Jaden down on the ground, watching as he ran over to his Papa.

"How are you feeling?" Tristan asked suddenly.

"I'm doin' all right. I'm just glad I don't have to use the crutches anymore. I still need to take my time when I do things and I don't have all that much energy yet, but I feel good."

"Well, we're all glad you're all right, Joey," added Duke.

"Thanks, ya guys. Seto! Put those away before I shove them up somewhere _very _inappropriate!" Joey suddenly roared.

Everyone looked to see what had caught Joey's attention. And when they did—

"Bakura! Don't you _dare_!" shouted Ryou.

Being the sneaky thief that he was, Bakura opted for a different tactic to get his way. "What if we promise not to get violent with them?"

Joey, Ryou, Malik, and Yugi crossed their arms and glared at their lovers, who were now holding the toy pirate swords.

"Fine," Joey relented. "But stay by the pool where we can see ya. If it gets out of hand, I'm burnin' the swords and ya won't get to play _pirates _anymore. Got it?"

The Yamis and Seto nodded in agreement. Then they scampered off to the far side of the pool playing with the swords.

A few minutes later, Jaden bolted over to them. "Daddy! They're gonna make Uncle Yami walk the plank!" Heads shot up and everyone raced off to the far end of the pool to see what was going on.

"Oh, Yami," Yugi muttered as he stared at his lover, who was currently standing on the diving board as he was poked and prodded across it by the toy swords Marik and Bakura held. Seto just stood off to the side and smirked.

"Shouldn't we put an end to this?" asked Ryou.

"Personally, I'd like to see Yami walk," blurted Yugi. He covered his mouth with his hands when he realized he'd said that out loud. The other couldn't help but laugh.

Soon, they started up a chant. "Walk the plank! Walk the plank! Walk the plank!"

"You're all traitors!" Yami spat at them.

"And _you're _done for!" exclaimed Bakura, giving Yami one final prod with his sword, promptly knocking the former pharaoh off the diving board and into the pool with a large splash; he soon sank to the bottom.

"I didn't know Yami could swim," Duke said absentmindedly.

"He can't!" Yugi gasped in sudden realization. He bolted for the pool and dove in after his lover, bringing him to the surface as quickly as he could. The others circled around the edge and helped the two onto the deck.

Yami lay on his back, not moving.

"Oh, Yami!" Yugi cried, leaning down to start giving him mouth to mouth.

But as soon as he did so, Yami's arms pulled him down for a heated kiss. Yugi's arms flailed wildly until he broke free.

"I should have just let you drown," Yugi snapped, getting up and leaving his lover on the deck. "You don't just go around scaring people like that."

"I didn't mean to scare you, Yugi! I swear!" Yami whined as he ran after him.

"I think I'm gonna start on the food now," said Joey.

"Good idea. I think I'll help you," offered Ryou. Everyone felt as if they should let Yami and Yugi have their space for the time being. It was far too hot to deal with any drama.

"Ooh! Can I man the grill?" Bakura asked, bouncing up and down.

"Absolutely not!" scolded Ryou.

"Yeah, we want food, not fireworks," added Tristan.

Bakura made a pouty face, looking quite downcast. "Is this because I made Yami walk the plank?"

"No. I actually enjoyed that," said Joey. The others nodded in agreement. "But ya can help Ryou bring out the food for the grill. Or would ya like to take Jaden on a treasure hunt?"

"Treasure? Where?" Bakura asked excitedly.

"Well, we were plannin' on doin' this later," started Joey mischievously, "but I have a treasure map that will lead ya guys to some treasure. Follow the map and you'll find it. But you'll have to split the treasure equally. Ya in?"

"I wanna hunt for treasure!" shouted Jaden, tugging on Bakura's pants.

"And ye shall," replied Bakura, slipping into pirate speech as he picked up Jaden. "We shall find this booty in no time."

"We're searching for a person?" exclaimed Marik, thoroughly confused.

"Not that booty, the other booty," informed Bakura.

"What other booty?"

"The treasure kind."

"Since when is someone's ass treasure? Well…I take that back, because Malik's—"

"Here's the map!" Joey interrupted, giving it to them. He felt a major headache coming on. "Mokuba? Serenity? Can ya please join Jaden and…those two on this…treasure hunt please?"

The two young ones chuckled and acquiesced to his request.

* * *

Bakura's eye twitched. Whose bright idea was it to give Marik the map, anyway?

"I still don't get it. How do we know which way is east?" inquired Marik.

"East is the direction the sun rises and it sets in the west," barked Bakura for the second time.

"But the sun isn't rising _or _setting! It's already out! So how do we know which way to go?" argued Marik.

"Look! It's one in the afternoon! And the sun is over there! Which means _that _way is west and the opposite way is east!"

It finally seemed to click.

"Oh. Can you explain what booty is again?"

"No!"

* * *

"Looks like they finally found the treasure," commented Joey as he put the final steak from the grill on a plate. The tables were set with food waiting to be eaten.

"You think they'll be disappointed with the treasure?" asked Seto.

"I doubt it. Ya can never go wrong with candy…especially chocolate. I hear the Yamis like it."

"You did this on purpose to distract them, didn't you?" inquired the brunet.

"Hey, if it keeps them occupied enough to keep them out of trouble and Jaden happy, I see no problem with it," the blond smirked.

Seto chuckled amusedly at his Puppy's conniving ways. "Food's ready!" he called out loudly. Soon, everyone scampered over to the table lavished with food.

Grabbing a plate, Joey filled up Jaden's and handed it to him, then helped himself to his own. They sat down at the other table and started eating, but not before Seto put in his Pirate CD—where he got it, Joey didn't know—and they listened to the music while they ate.

When that was done, Seto went back into the mansion. A few minutes later, he came back out with a huge cake in the shape of a pirate ship, four candles blazing brightly on it.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Jaden! Happy Birthday to you!" the gang screeched—er, sang—to the small birthday boy.

"Now blow out your candles!" said Joey as Seto set the cake down on the table.

"And don't forget to make a wish!" added Mokuba.

Jaden paused, as if in thought, then he blew out the candles. Everyone applauded and Seto started passing out slices of cake.

"What did you wish for?" Bakura asked eagerly. "The pharaoh to turn into a monkey? Or better yet, for him to get mauled by a monkey?"

"Hey," Yami warned.

"No," Jaden answered simply, tucking into his cake. "I wished for a baby sister."

An awkward silence passed as everyone looked from Seto to Joey after what Jaden had said. They were…speechless, to say the least.

That wish tore at Joey's heart. He didn't know what to say or do. He didn't even know how he should react! But…of course Jaden would wish for something like that. The small boy probably felt alone being an only child. Mokuba and Serenity were many years older than him, and Jaden just wanted someone to play with…and watch over.

"Should we open presents now?" Seto broke the silence by clearing his throat and reaching for gifts.

"Yeah. Sure," muttered Joey as he stared at Jaden. He smiled when the small boy's eyes lit up at that prospect, but he still felt unsettled by Jaden's words.

"Are you all right?" Seto whispered while Jaden tore into his present from Malik and Marik.

"I'm fine…but I want to talk later," said the blond.

"About what Jaden said?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll talk."

"Cool!" Jaden cried, drawing everyone's attention to his gift. It was a ten piece Band in a Box with a small assortment of little instruments.

"Open ours next!" said Yugi, passing over one of the larger gifts. This one revealed a Folding Wooden Castle Play Set along with some toys appropriate for medieval play.

"Our present is a lot cooler than that one," stated Bakura, handing off another large gift to Jaden. When Jaden opened it, he squealed in delight. It was a Water Play Center Inflatable! It also came with two boats! After inflating it, you could fill it with water and play with the boats around the lighthouse, roads, houses, and trees.

From Tea, Jaden got a Wooden Play Country Kitchen, complete with toy appliances and food; Tristan got him a Lift and Load Train Set; Duke got him a large set of building blocks; Serenity and Mokuba got him different card game sets; Seto got him Duel Monsters toys; and Joey got him a sketchbook, some coloring books, and a small art kit.

"Thank you!" said Jaden. And he got up and gave everyone little hugs and kisses to show his thanks.

But when the small boy started yawning, Joey knew it was time to call it a day. "Okay, I think it's naptime for this little guy," he said, picking up Jaden. "Ya guys can help yourselves to whatever food ya want and take it home. I'm gonna clean up Jaden and put him down for a nap."

Saying their goodbyes, Joey took Jaden into the mansion and upstairs to the small boy's bedroom. He changed him out of his tiny pirate clothes and into some pajamas, set him down in bed, pulled the covers over him, kissed him goodnight, and left, wandering into his own bedroom.

"I put all of Jaden's gifts in the living room for now," announced Seto upon entering the room. "Mokuba and Serenity will be in the gaming room for the rest of the evening. They won't disturb us if you want to talk now."

"Just…let me get changed first," replied the blond as he stepped into the bathroom. He took off his costume and slipped into a pair of pajamas. Feeling particularly lazy, Joey thought he'd take a nap soon, too. It had been a long day.

As he stepped back into the bedroom, he noticed that Seto had changed into a pair of pajamas as well. Joey pulled back the covers on the bed and slid under them, Seto not too far behind. When the brunet pulled him into his arms, Joey turned to face him.

"How do ya feel about what Jaden wished for?" the blond asked immediately.

"I must say that I was quite surprised by it," Seto began slowly, "but I can understand why he made that wish."

"Me, too. Everyone he knows is so much older than him and I think that he wants someone near enough his own age to play with. Maybe he feels like he's…all alone. I know—to a degree—what it's like to be an only child. And I can't even imagine what it would have been like had I not had a sister at all."

"Same here. I'm not sure if I'd have even gotten this far with my life had it not been for Mokuba. The company…everything…I did it all for Mokuba."

"Jaden…doesn't _want _a siblin'…he _needs _a siblin'. Someone he can talk to whenever he feels like no one else is there for him. And I can't imagine he'd want to tell us everythin' once he gets older. He needs someone other than…other than us," contemplated Joey softly.

"All he's ever seen since living with us is people taking care of him. Jaden might also want someone to look after, which is probably why he wished for a baby sister."

"Yeah."

They both sighed simultaneously. "So the question is," started Seto, "do we want to adopt another child? A little girl?"

"A daughter?"

Daughter. The word seemed to echo throughout the room.

"Yes, a…daughter," repeated Seto, letting the thought mull over in his mind. The idea of having a little girl thrilled him. She'd be his little princess. A smile tugged at the brunet's lips.

His Puppy noticed. "There ya go. Makin' decisions without me," he teased.

"I didn't say anything," Seto protested.

"Ya didn't have to. I can see it in your eyes. Ya wanna have a little girl, don't ya?"

"I do," the brunet admitted shyly.

Joey laughed and hugged him. "Good. Because I do, too."

"I think this will be a good idea and a bad one."

"Why?"

"It's a good idea because we'll be growing as a family and Jaden will have a little partner in crime," he chuckled. "But it'll also be a bad idea because of the Yamis."

"Why is it a bad idea because of them?" inquired Joey curiously.

"If you think they're protective over Jaden, how protective do you think they'll be over a little girl?"

His Puppy raised an eyebrow at him. If Seto thought the Yamis would be overly protective, he was sorely mistaken. The brunet would be leading the charge, if anything.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	4. Thursday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Thursday**

"That party must have really worn you two out yesterday," Mokuba stated when Seto and Joey finally made it downstairs.

"What do ya mean?" the blond asked abruptly.

"You guys got up really late. We didn't want to disturb you, so we made breakfast. Everyone's eating in the kitchen," he explained.

"Okay. Well, thanks for lettin' us sleep," he replied.

"And now that we're all up, there's something we'd like to discuss with you, Serenity, and Jaden," added Seto, leading them to the kitchen.

"Morning!" Serenity chirped.

"Daddy! Papa! You're up!" Jaden cried happily, waving his cereal spoon in the air.

"Yep. We're up," said Joey, ruffling the small boy's hair. "There's somethin' we want to discuss with ya guys."

"What?" inquired Serenity.

"We did a lot of thinking about the wish Jaden made yesterday," answered Seto.

"About him wanting a baby sister?" asked Mokuba.

"Yes," continued the brunet. "We talked it over and we decided that we want to adopt a little girl."

"I get to have a baby sister?" exclaimed Jaden.

"Well, she might not be a baby, but we hope to find you a sister who's a bit younger than ya," stated Joey. "But it might take awhile. We have to find a place where we can find you a sister."

"Are you two all right with this?" questioned Seto, addressing Serenity and Mokuba.

"Of course we're okay with it!" replied Serenity.

"Yeah! It'll be fun!" added Mokuba.

Joey and Seto smiled. Things were looking up.

* * *

Things weren't looking too good.

"Why can't we find an orphanage that has girls?" snapped Seto, glaring at the screen of his laptop.

"I don't know and it's really pissin' me off," Joey stated in a similar manner. He was about to throw his own laptop out the window. They had decided things would move a lot quicker if they each looked for orphanages on both of their laptops. It didn't really work out as planned.

"I really don't think we're going to find anything in Domino. We might have to…expand our search."

"To where?" Joey sighed in frustration.

"Tokyo," Seto said suddenly.

"Tokyo?"

"Yes. I've heard there are some orphanages in Tokyo, but they're a bit under the radar. I can pull some strings to find some decent ones. What do you think?"

"I think…I don't know what I think. I hadn't counted on travlelin' so far."

"We could always fly there," suggested Seto. "It should take no more than one to two hours to do so."

"But…what about the kids? I don't wanna leave them here while we go explorin' Tokyo for a daughter," the blond reasoned.

"Then we'll just take them with us. I can book a hotel for a few days. We can share a room with Jaden, and Serenity and Mokuba can share another one. They can come with us while we visit orphanages or they can just stay in the hotel. I'm pretty sure there is plenty to do there that will keep them occupied."

Joey had to admit, the thought sort of thrilled him. And as soon as Seto had said 'Tokyo,' he felt a tugging toward that location. "Okay. Let's go."

Seto smiled at his Puppy. "Tell the kids to pack. I'll make a few calls, book our flight and hotel, and we'll hopefully leave tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," replied Joey as he scampered off to relate the news. What did Tokyo have in store for them? The blond hoped that it would hold nothing but good fortune.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	5. Friday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Friday**

Things hadn't actually gone as planned. Well…they _had _been able to get up on time, were _not _late to the airport, the flight _had _gone smoothly, they'd landed in Tokyo _without _any trouble, and during the whole time, Serenity, Mokuba, and Jaden had been _perfect _little angels.

However, when they went to retrieve their bags, Seto had managed to hurt himself. As soon as he reached down to lift the bags, the brunet had pulled his back. He was currently standing hunched over like some decrepit old man.

"Not good," Joey muttered as he rushed to Seto's side. "Can ya stand up?"

"I _am _standing up!" Seto snapped, grimacing at the pain shooting up his spine.

"I meant straight!"

"If I could, don't you think I would have done it by now!" he roared. They were slowly starting to draw attention to themselves.

"Mokuba? Serenity? Can ya help with the bags please?" asked Joey as he supported Seto's weight by placing his arm around him. "Jaden, take Papa's hand. We're gonna help him outside, okay?"

Jaden nodded and took his Papa's left hand in his while Joey helped lead the way out of the airport. Once they reached outside, Mokuba flagged down the limo that had been reserved for them. Helping Seto into the vehicle, the rest of them sat inside in silence while the driver took them to their hotel.

* * *

The Peninsula Tokyo was the place Seto had booked for them. It was a five star hotel and had basically everything one could possibly need. And right now, Seto knew what he needed.

"Full-Service Health Spa. Now!" he groaned as he was helped out of the limo by Joey.

"We need to check-in first then I'll take ya to your damn spa. I guess we're not hittin' any orphanages today, huh?"

"Puppy, I'm sorry. I can't—"

"I know," the blond interceded sympathetically. "I know. We'll get ya fixed up today and maybe we'll go out tomorrow."

Seto gave him a pained smile as they stepped into the hotel. "I have two reservations under Kaiba," he blurted out almost immediately. The brunet tried to show that he wasn't in any pain, but it was becoming harder by the minute.

Receiving their keys quickly under Seto's hard glare, they took the elevator to their floor and found their rooms with ease.

"You two will be sharin' this room," Joey stated, handing one of the keys over to Serenity and Mokuba. "Your room has two twin beds and is filled with…everythin' to keep ya occupied. Keep your cell phones on and I do _not _want ya two leavin' this hotel. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," they answered simultaneously.

"Thank you. I'm going to take Seto down to the spa with Jaden after I put our bags in the room. There are restaurants and some shoppin' ya can do _inside_ as well as room service," continued the blond.

"Here," whined Seto, pulling out his wallet. He tossed the two a credit card. "Have fun. Spa! Now!"

"Okay. Be good, ya two. We'll be back later," said Joey, kissing the both of them on the forehead. He tossed their bags into their room and then carefully led Seto and Jaden down to the spa.

"Did they really just give us a credit card?" inquired Serenity.

"Did they really just give us a credit card at one of Tokyo's best hotels?" countered Mokuba.

"Let's check out our room first!" the small girl squealed, bouncing up and down in delight.

Mokuba quickly opened their door, bags in hand and stepped into the room. "This place is awesome!"

The room had bedside electronic control panels, mood lighting, and a dressing area with a radio, a weather panel, and nail dryer. It even had a 42-inch plasma television with premium cables as well as cordless, dual-line, Skype-capable phones. Even the bathroom had a TV and a phone; plus, it included a bathtub separate from the shower. There was even a dining table and a desk inside their room, along with a garden view of Hibiya Park.

"Let's get something to eat! I'm starving!" said Serenity. "Where can we go to eat in this place?"

"There's always room service," started Mokuba, eyeing the pamphlet of services the hotel provided, "because some of the restaurants I can't go to."

"Why not?"

"The place Peter and Kyoto Tsuruya don't allow children under twelve," explained the young boy.

"Oh."

Seeing Serenity's disheartened face, an idea popped into Mokuba's head. "We can always go down to the Peninsula Boutique and Café. It serves deli food and fresh pastries. After we eat, we can check out the gift shop, get a few things, and then explore the hotel."

"Let's go!" the redhead cried as she dragged Mokuba out of the room.

When they reached the bottom floor, they headed over to the Peninsula Boutique and Café. Both of them were astounded by the amount of pastries they had.

"Seto and Joey would never let us eat this," said Mokuba, noticing something that he wanted from the menu.

"What?" asked Serenity. He pointed at the item and both their mouths started to water. "Well…they're not here, so let's order that. Ooh! And this, too! And that!"

Within minutes of placing their order, they were soon served two Garden Salads, two pieces of Quiche Lorraine, and two servings of French Toast with Cinnamon Ice-Cream.

"We are going to get so sick," commented Mokuba as he tucked into his food. "They've got take-out, too. We can get some cakes or something and take them back to the room."

Serenity nodded in compliance. "I think I saw some chocolates and stuff in the gift shop, too. Can we get some of those as well?"

"Just get whatever you want. You don't have to ask."

"But…Seto gave the credit card to _you_. I don't want to—"

"He gave it to both of us," interrupted Mokuba. "And he told us to have fun. I know we actually came here for them to adopt another kid, but it's almost like we're having our first…family vacation together. And if you want souvenirs, I'm going to get you souvenirs."

Serenity blushed slightly. "Thanks, Mokuba," she whispered shyly, ducking her head.

"It's no problem. Are you done?"

"Yeah."

They left to pay the bill and then ventured off to the gift shop. Their mouths dropped at the amount of stuff surrounding them.

"Whoa," stated Mokuba. "This place is so cool!"

"Hey, Mokuba. I have an idea. How about we each get a gift for everyone as well as ourselves? That way, no one feels left out," prompted Serenity.

"Okay. But let's also get something for our new baby niece. We can use it as a welcoming gift for her when Seto and Joey adopt her."

"That's a great idea!"

Coming to an agreement, they split up and started rummaging through the gift shop. Nearly two hours later, they met back up and showed each other what they'd found.

For Joey, they got a Calligraphy Set and Meoto Jyawan (cups of a couple) for tea; they got Seto a Shoji Japanese Chess Yukata and a Bamboo Chopstick Set; for Jaden, they got a Chirimen Bear and a Hachimaki (headband) that read Tokko (Charge!); for their future niece, they got her a Sakura Bear and a matching Handkerchief.

Serenity got herself a Bamboo and Sparrow Kimono and a special gift for Mokuba; a Manekineko (cat doll) Keychain.

Mokuba got himself a Burned Cedar Touch Furin (wind-chime) and a secret gift for Serenity; a Juzu bracelet.

On top of the additional assortment of chocolates and teas, they made out pretty well. Deciding that they'd rather go back upstairs than explore the hotel, they gathered their purchases and returned to their room.

Dropping their souvenirs on the dining room table, Serenity began digging through one of them in search of something. When she found it, she smiled. "I got you something, Mokuba," she said sweetly.

The young boy froze, a blush staining his cheeks. "You did?"

"Uh huh! Here!" Serenity passed him the Manekineko Keychain. "It's for good luck!"

Mokuba took the little cat charm into his hands and smiled. "Thank you. I got something for you, too. Hold on a sec," he said as he dug through the bags. He gave Serenity the pink Juzu bracelet. But when she didn't say anything, he panicked. "You don't like it."

"No, Mokuba," she replied softly. "I love it. Thank you so much." After she slipped it onto her right wrist, Serenity pulled him into a hug. With a smirk Seto would have been proud of, he returned the embrace. Perhaps the Manekineko was lucky after all.

A sudden flash made them break away from each other as if burned. Turning their eyes to the window, they saw someone outside of it. But who could be up here? They were on the 20th floor!

The photographer seemed surprised by the fact he'd been noticed. In his attempt to hide, he slipped on the platform he was standing on—which was used by the window washers—and got his foot tangled in the ropes. He fell off the platform and hung suspended in the air. Screams sounded from below.

Mokuba and Serenity raced over to the window to see if the guy was all right. Even after having an accident, the photographer _still_ gripped the camera like a lifeline.

"Stupid media," Mokuba grumbled. Seto was _not _going to like this one bit.

"Shouldn't we call for help?" exclaimed Serenity.

"No," he replied, pointing off to the side. The _real _window washers had decided to come to the poor man's rescue. Closing all the curtains in the hotel room, Mokuba plopped himself onto the couch and sighed.

"What's the matter, Mokuba?"

"I _hate _the media!" he snapped. "They never leave us alone! I'm actually surprised they hadn't tried to get to us sooner. Why can't they just buzz off?"

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. I didn't take the proper precautions and now Seto's going to be mad at me."

"He won't be mad at you for something like this. It's not your fault someone took that picture," insisted Serenity.

Mokuba fought tears. "We'll see."

* * *

"Ya feel better now?" asked Joey as they headed back to their room.

"Oh, yes," Seto moaned. He felt good. _Really _good. His back didn't hurt anymore and it felt like all the stress had completely left his body. He'd never felt so relaxed.

The blond chuckled. "Well, let's go check on Mokuba and Serenity first."

Knocking on their door, Serenity soon answered it. "Hi," she greeted unsurely.

"Is everything all right? And why is it so dark in here?" Joey immediately grew concerned. He set Jaden down in the room and entered with Seto right behind him. Shutting the door, he looked toward a very nervous Mokuba.

"What happened?" Seto asked, unease lacing his voice. When his little brother approached him as if he were terrified, he got even _more _worried.

"I'm really sorry, Seto," stuttered Mokuba.

"For what?"

"Just…don't look at tomorrow's paper," the young boy said in a rush.

"Mokuba, just tell us what happened. We won't be mad," stated Seto seriously.

"Someone…took a picture of us…outside the window," Serenity answered for him.

"It was the media," Mokuba continued. "He was outside on the platform and took a picture when we hug—" He covered his mouth with his hands, shocked that he'd almost let that information slip.

"When you what?" Joey questioned further. "Were you going to say…hugged?"

When both Serenity and Mokuba's faces turned red, the blond knew he hit the nail on the head.

"Were you apologizing to me because you thought you let that guy take the picture?" Seto asked.

Tears welled up in Mokuba's eyes. "It's my fault. I know better than that. I'm really sorry, Seto. Please don't be mad at me."

The brunet felt his heart wrench. Did his little brother really feel that way? "Hey, I'm not mad. Okay? You have no control over what other people do. You can't prevent things from happening. I can't even avoid the media all the time."

"Yeah," Joey added. "When we were in the spa, someone took a picture of Seto gettin' a massage."

Mokuba rubbed his eyes. "What happened next?"

"Joey tackled the photographer to the ground, grabbed the camera, and smashed it on the floor. I think that guy's going to need therapy after that little escapade," said Seto.

"Why do you say that?" asked Serenity.

"It's not every day you get your butt kicked by someone wearing a mud wrap," finished the brunet.

"Ha ha ha. What happened to your guy?" questioned the blond, trying to change the subject.

"He got startled when he realized we noticed him. His leg got tangled in the rope on the platform and he fell off," Mokuba stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh my God! Is he okay?" Joey gasped.

"Well…he was hanging upside down for a bit and people were screaming from down below. Some window washers came to his rescue, though," continued Serenity.

"And he never let go of the camera," Mokuba added.

"It seems like we've all had an interesting day," commented Seto. "I also want you two to know that we are _not _angry with you."

"You have nothing to worry about." The blond glanced around the room and his eyes landed on the shopping bags. "I see you guys wasted no time in getting souvenirs."

"Oh! It's not all for us!" said Mokuba. He and Serenity rushed over to the bags and started rummaging through them. "Sit down and we'll pass out the gifts."

Taking a seat on the couch, they patiently awaited the gift giving. Well…except _one _person.

"Did I get something?" asked Jaden, peeking over the couch.

"Yep! I got you a headband," said Mokuba, tying it around Jaden's head.

"Cool! What's it say?" Jaden cried.

"It says…Charge!" he answered, tickling the small boy.

"And I got you a stuffed bear," announced Serenity, handing it over to him.

Jaden took hold of it and hugged the toy almost immediately. Satisfied, he plopped himself onto the couch.

"And for Seto, we got you a Bamboo Chopstick Set and a Shoji Japanese Chess Yukata," said Mokuba.

"Thanks, you two. I didn't realize you knew me so well." Seto swelled with love for them over their thoughtful gifts. He knew that the Bamboo Chopsticks were from Mokuba; it was something their real parents had always used. And it was only recently that Serenity had discovered that he loved chess.

"Joey, this is for you." Serenity handed the blond a Calligraphy Set.

"Wow. I haven't had one of these in ages," stated Joey, running his hands over the box.

"Don't forget me," said Mokuba, handing over his gift.

"Meoto Jyawan," Seto commented absently.

"What's that mean?" asked the blond.

"It means…cups of a couple," he replied.

"Why's one bigger than the other?"

Seto smirked. "Normally, the bigger one goes to the husband and the smaller one goes to the wife. But in this case, the smaller one goes to you."

Joey blushed, too at a loss to say anything.

"We're not done yet." Serenity broke the silence. She handed Joey and Seto the Sakura Bear and the Handkerchief. "These are for…well…they're gifts for the little girl you're going to adopt."

"We thought it would be nice to get her something, too. So she doesn't feel left out," continued Mokuba.

"Ya guys are just too sweet," said Joey. "We'll take these with us when we go out tomorrow."

"Are…we coming, too?" his sister asked hesitantly.

"Do you two _want _to come?" Seto inquired.

They both nodded eagerly.

"Then we'll all go…as a family."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	6. Saturday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Saturday**

"Mokuba, look what just came in," announced Seto as he dropped the morning's paper on the dining table of the hotel room. "You made the headlines."

Everyone peeked at the front page. And smack dab in the middle was a photograph of Mokuba and Serenity hugging. The headline read: _Younger Kaiba Finds Love_.

"It's a cute picture," commented Joey. "Maybe we should frame it."

"Are you crazy?" Mokuba snapped. "This is…an invasion of privacy! You don't just put up pictures that intrude on your privacy!" Blushing furiously, the younger Kaiba ripped the newspaper in half and trudged off to the bathroom. He was never going to be able to live this day down.

* * *

"We're gonna walk there?" asked Joey as they stepped out of the Peninsula Tokyo Hotel.

"Yes. The orphanage my sources informed me of is in an odd spot. We'll be passing through a lot of shopping areas, specifically Marunouchi," answered Seto. "After we get past Marunouchi Brick Square, we'll take one of the side streets and stop by the orphanage. And hopefully, we'll get our little girl."

Taking the blond's hand in his, they smiled at each other.

"You're making it easy for the paparazzi," Mokuba warned.

Seto glared at him. "Let's just go."

After nearly a half an hour of walking, they reached Marunouchi Brick Square, but soon, the kids were distracted by a shop. But not just any shop. A _toy _shop.

"Can we go in? Please?" Serenity begged.

"Just a little peek?" added Mokuba.

"I wanna see some toys," Jaden whined.

"Fine," Seto relented. "But don't touch anything."

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. How could you go into a toy store and _not _touch anything? It was unheard of!

As they stepped into the toy wonderland, their hearing was immediately assaulted by two young women arguing with each other. Boy, had they come in at the wrong time.

"Teddies!"

"Bunnies!"

"Teddies!"

"Bunnies!"

"Teddies!"

"Customers!" the woman who'd been screaming 'Bunnies!' exclaimed. She smiled at them sheepishly. "We're just…having some…ordering issues…um, I'm Willow! And this is Casondrah! We own this place, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Seto decided that it would be best to steer clear of these two. They looked…insane.

"Whoa! Look at this!" cried Mokuba, pointing at the giant tower of teddy bears. There looked to be…thousands of them.

"Mine!" Casondrah yelled, diving in front of the tower of teddies.

"Don't mind her," started Willow. "She's…a bit obsessed with teddy bears. You should see her in the back. Casondrah has tea parties with them. She even dresses herself as a teddy bear!"

"Well, at least I don't dress up bunnies in ninja outfits!" snapped Casondrah. "Do you know how many of your shirukens I've had to remove from my teddies?"

"Excuse me for a moment," Willow said to them awkwardly as she slunk off over to her friend. They started hissing at each other—although, it looked more like they were arguing quietly—before turning back to face them.

"We're sorry," they said simultaneously, smiles on their faces.

"Just go ahead and look around," said Casondrah as she wandered around the tower of teddies. Suddenly, one particular teddy caught her attention. It was pure black and had crystal blue eyes. She didn't have a teddy like that one. It was so cute and it was looking at her with those adorable, plastic chibi eyes. Her arms outstretched, she walked like a zombie toward the teddy, which just so happened to be in the middle of the tower.

"Um…Joey?" Serenity started tugging on her brother's arm.

Turning his attention toward her, he noticed that she was pointing at something. As he went to look, he freaked. The tower of teddies was falling down!

"Casondrah!" Willow screeched when she saw the tower fall and collapse onto her friend. When the teddies settled, she frantically started digging through them. "Casondrah! Speak to me!"

"Teddy!" the lost woman shouted as she burst through a particular pile of them, nearly giving Willow a heart attack. "Isn't he cute?"

"That's not a teddy!" Willow scolded, staring at Casondrah in astonishment as she hugged Jaden, whom she thought was a teddy bear.

"He's not?" she questioned. Looking down, she discovered she'd been hugging a small boy, not a teddy. "Oops…he's still cute, though."

"Jaden!" Joey called, clambering over the fallen teddy bears clumsily as he tried to get toward him. When he did, Casondrah passed him over to the blond gently.

Crawling back through the teddy bear minefield, everyone stood near the entrance of the shop and took in the mess before them.

"I told you we didn't need any more teddies," Willow grumbled absently.

"Oh, and bunnies are so much better?" retaliated Casondrah.

"As a matter of fact, they are!"

"They are not!"

"Bunnies!"

"Teddies!"

"Bunnies!"

"Teddies!"

_Oh, God. Not this again_, Seto groaned inside his head. Their voices just seemed to get louder and louder until—"Puppies!" he roared, silencing them.

Willow and Casondrah stared at him blankly. "Puppies?" they echoed. The thought seemed to mull over in their minds.

"Oh, my fucking God! Puppies!" screamed Willow.

"Why didn't we ever think of puppies?" shrieked Casondrah.

"I…think we should leave now," said Joey when he noticed the two women freaking out over puppies.

"I think you're right," agreed Seto.

The five of them bolted from the shop and never looked back.

* * *

Joey looked up at the all girl orphanage uneasily. He was nervous. Why was he so nervous? Was he afraid they wouldn't be able to adopt anyone from here or something?

"Come on, Puppy," said Seto reassuringly as he took his hand. Leading everyone inside, they were soon stopped by a portly old woman.

"May I help you?" she asked in a nasally tone.

"Yes, we're looking to adopt. I set up an appointment for today," started the brunet.

"This way, but the _children _must stay here," the old woman insisted.

Sighing, Joey turned to them. "Can ya guys stay here, please? We'll come get ya when we come back."

Serenity, Mokuba, and Jaden sat in the…waiting room type area and…well, waited for them to return.

As the woman led them down a darkened hallway, Joey asked, "What age range of girls do ya have here?"

"Everything from two to twelve. Here it is," she announced, stopping in front of an even darker door. "Just step inside. Mr. Saki will see you now."

Seto opened the door, which made a resounding creak before they were suddenly welcomed inside by a cheerful old man.

"Greetings! Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Wheeler I presume?" began Mr. Saki.

They both nodded and sat down in front of his desk.

"It is my understanding that you wish to adopt a young girl under the age of four. And if you find her here, you wish to take her immediately, is that correct? It's quite unusual to do so."

"Yes. We're only in the Tokyo and Marunouchi area for a few days," started Seto.

"We haven't been able to find anywhere to adopt where we live," interrupted Joey—much to the brunet's annoyance—but the blond knew best. This guy would be swayed by emotion, not facts. "All we want is to take in a little girl and give her a home. On our son's birthday, as he blew out his candles and made his wish, he wished for a baby sister. We came all the way out here to make his wish come true."

Mr. Saki swallowed hard, emotions swelling up inside him.

"Please allow us—if we find this little girl—to adopt her right away. It would mean everythin' to us," continued Joey, tears forming in his eyes. "Our son is here lookin' for a baby sister to take care of, and we're here for a little girl to give all the love and care that she needs. Will ya give us that?"

The old man broke down crying. "Go ahead! Find your little girl! I'll have the paperwork drawn up immediately when you find her!" He grabbed a tissues and started blowing his nose.

"Thank ya so much," Joey said warmly. Taking Seto's hand, he led them out of the office.

"Nice work, Puppy."

"I learn from the best."

Seto smirked knowingly. "And who might that be?"

"Mokuba."

"Mokuba?" the brunet responded, confused. But then he realized that his little brother was running up to them looking quite terrified.

"Jaden took off! That nasally woman scared him!" the young boy shouted as soon as he caught up to them.

"Took off where?" Joey demanded.

"Where the other kids are. Serenity ran after him and I came to get you two," he wheezed.

They darted back out to the waiting room and down the other hall leading to the orphaned girls where they instantly bumped into Serenity. She jumped upon contact.

"Oh! It's just you guys!" she gasped, putting a hand to her chest.

"Did you find Jaden?" asked Seto.

"No. I didn't see which way he went."

"Then let's split up," suggested Mokuba.

And they did so. Seto went one way, Joey another, and their younger siblings went off in another direction.

The blond searched anxiously for Jaden. It felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. He _knew _he should have taken the small boy with them to Mr. Saki's office. Giggling suddenly interrupted his thoughts. It sounded like Jaden. Stepping closer to the partially opened door, Joey peeked inside, relief washing over him when he saw his little boy.

"Jaden, I was so worried about you," exhaled the blond. It was then he noticed that they weren't alone.

"Daddy! I found a sister!" Jaden proclaimed, indicating the little girl sitting next to him on the floor. She had dark hair and innocent brown eyes. Joey presumed she couldn't be more than two years old.

Kneeling in front of the two of them, Joey smiled. "Hi. What's your name?"

The little girl cocked her head to the side. "Blair," she answered sweetly. "Aw you Daddy, now?"

"I can be. Do ya want me to be your Daddy?"

Blair stretched out her arms—as if waiting to be picked up—and nodded. Joey embraced her and she curled up against him, plopping her thumb in her mouth before she started dozing off.

"Joey, I can't—there you are!" Seto exclaimed as he burst into the room. He stormed in and swooped Jaden up in his arms. "You had me worried sick!"

"Shh!"

The brunet balked. His Puppy had just shushed him! And for _no _reason at all! He'd only been relieved to find Jaden. Determined to give him a piece of his mind, he stopped himself when he noticed Joey rising to his feet with a small bundle in his arms.

"Seto, I'd like ya to meet Blair," his Puppy whispered to him, revealing the tiny girl he held in his arms. She was fast asleep.

"She's my sister," Jaden stated matter-of-factly, keeping his voice low as he reached out to pat Blair of the head. When he did so, she snuggled even closer to Joey.

The brunet was at a loss for words.

"Jaden found her," explained the blond. "And she asked if I was her Daddy now. I asked her if she wanted me to be and she said yes. She said yes."

Seto shifted Jaden to his left hip. Reaching out, the brunet lightly stroked the smooth cheek of the little girl. Her eyes opened almost immediately. She had Joey's eyes. "Hi there, Princess."

Blair looked confused. "Not a pwincess," she mumbled sleepily.

If Seto had his way, she was going to be treated like one. "Do you want to be part of our family?" The little girl nodded, making him smile. "Then you can call me, Papa."

"Papa…" Blair sighed contentedly before falling back asleep.

Joey and Seto looked at each other knowingly. They'd made the right decision. Or rather, Jaden had.

"Looks like you found yourself a baby sister, Jaden," whispered the brunet, kissing the small boy on his head.

"I'm a big brother now."

* * *

As soon as they left the orphanage with Blair, she woke up straight away. "I'm hungwy," she whined from Joey's arms.

"Okay. We'll get somethin'," the blond assured her. "Seto, can we stop somewhere and get them somethin' to eat?"

"We'll head over to the Marunouchi Building. It's not far. I'm sure there will be a restaurant there that'll welcome the six of us," replied the brunet.

They walked—well, Jaden and Blair were carried—to the Marunouchi Building, and after much searching, they settled on Isola Smeralda. It was one of the few that was currently open that had enough room, had a casual dress code, and where Seto could flash his status so that he wouldn't need to make a reservation.

As soon as they were seated—with Blair finally being given a child seat—Joey quickly scanned the menu. When everyone stated what they wanted, they eagerly waited for the waiter to show up.

A couple minutes later, he arrived. "Have you all decided on what you would like?"

"Yes," the blond interceded immediately. "A round of water for everyone, one Appetizer Assortment, one San Daniele Proscuitto and Salami Assortment, one Le Pizze, two Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil, a Rosemary Roasted Regional Chicken, a Bone-in Grilled Okinawan Pork Roast with Herbs, a Charcoal Grilled Lamb with Seasonal Vegetables, and a Japanese Beef Steak in Light Red Wine Sauce."

The waiter's eyes had widened after each item was listed off. "That is a pretty big order."

"I'm sure the cookin' staff can handle it. And can ya get the appetizers out here as soon as ya can? We need somethin' to hold the kids over until their entrees arrive," continued Joey.

"Yes, sir," the waiter replied, running off to fire his ticket.

Seto just stared at his Puppy. "What's gotten into you today?"

"Huh?" the blond replied.

"You were being…very aggressive with the wait staff."

Joey was still confused. "The kids are hungry and I don't want them waitin' any longer than they have to," he stated simply.

The brunet raised an eyebrow, figuring that his Puppy's parental instincts were just kicking in or something.

Nearly five minutes later, the appetizers and water had arrived, which everyone dug into eagerly. After another twenty minutes, their entrees were placed before them.

Jaden and Blair received the Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil along with half of a Le Pizze, Mokuba got the Bone-in Grilled Okinawan Pork Roast with Herbs, Serenity took the Japanese Beef Steak in Light Red Wine Sauce, and Joey had the Rosemary Roasted Regional Chicken, leaving Seto with the Charcoal Grilled Lamb with Seasonal Vegetables.

The blond helped feed Blair her food while Seto dealt with the spraying sauce whenever Jaden slurped his spaghetti.

"Are we going home tomorrow, Seto?" asked Mokuba, his mouth full.

"Swallow before you speak. And no, we're not going home tomorrow," answered the brunet.

"We're not?" they all echoed.

Seto shook his head. "I thought we could do some shopping around Tokyo and go to Hibiya Park. We'll go home the day after tomorrow."

"We get to go to a park?" Jaden exclaimed, launching more sauce.

"Yes, but it's a different kind of park. There's a lot to see and do there. Even eat," the brunet chuckled, wiping the small boy's mouth clean.

"Um…how big is this park?" Joey questioned as he looked between Jaden and Blair.

"About forty acres. Why?" replied Seto.

_Thank goodness Jaden only just turned four_, the blond thought. "Because if we're doing that much moving around, we need a stroller. I do _not _plan on carrying them for who knows how long after they drop down for a sudden nap."

"Aren't strollers for babies?" the brunet asked, scratching the back of his head.

"No, they're not just for babies," Joey retorted. "Full-size strollers accommodate children up to forty pounds or—approximately—four years of age."

"Oh…does that mean we need two?" His Puppy nodded. "You're pushing them, right?"

Joey threw a vegetable at him.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	7. Sunday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Sunday**

Joey _really _didn't like how Seto was smirking right now. Who knew that the brunet would get so wild over stroller shopping like someone going nuts over getting a sports car?

"Um…Seto, any stroller will do. Ya don't have to go…overboard," said the blond, interrupting his lover's thoughts.

"Overboard? I'm thinking of the safety of our children!" he exclaimed. Apparently, the sales clerk had really gotten to him; the man had a silver tongue. Joey thought he'd make a perfect addition to Kaiba Corp.

"But—"

"No buts! We are getting the Bumbleride Indie Twin Stroller! It's got the toughness to go over any surface, a five-point adjustable safety harness, the UV mesh viewing window is PVC-free, it has 12-inch air inflated tires, dual locking front swivel wheels, rear suspension—"

"Okay! Okay! I get it already!" Joey knew when to admit he'd lost at something. He might as well let Seto enjoy his stroller shopping. It was just that…the blond couldn't get over the fact that it cost over $700.00. Blame it on his humble—for lack of a better term—upbringing, but he just couldn't get used to _not _being worried about money.

"So we can get the stroller?" Seto inquired hopefully.

"We can get the stroller," conceded Joey. "Just pick a universal color. It's a _twin _stroller, after all."

The brunet nodded and fled to find the sales clerk.

* * *

After they did some shopping around Tokyo, they went to Hibiya Park just as they'd planned. However, when they got there, Mokuba and Serenity didn't even want to be _seen _with their older brothers. It was just too embarrassing.

"Seto, stop walkin' so funny," Joey whispered to him awkwardly.

"I'm not walking funny," he retorted. Seto was currently pushing the stroller, which was in black, with Jaden and Blair nestled snuggly inside. The brunet looked so…proud that he'd started walking with a little kick in his step that said "Oh, yeah! Look at me! You wish you were this cool!" Or…something along those lines. And the demeaning smirk he had on his face didn't help either.

Joey wished Seto would just stop and act normally…but then again—in a weird sort of way—it meant the brunet was happy and fulfilled by having a family of his own. His Seto was always sweetest at his quirkiest.

Reaching out, the blond placed his hand over Seto's on the handlebar of the stroller, stroking the other's knuckles contentedly. They continued their way in Hibiya Park that way, observing the large Western-styled theme and rose gardens with a natural interest. But soon, the peaceful reverie was interrupted by a shrill sound coming from Joey's pocket. Groaning in obvious displeasure, the blond pulled out his cell phone while Seto stopped pushing the stroller to attend to a whining Blair.

"Hello?" Joey answered.

"_Hi, Joey! It's Yugi! I was just calling to see how everything was going and…when you'd be back_," Yugi said, trailing off uneasily from the other line.

"Um, we're fine. And we adopted an adorable little girl. Her name is Blair and she is an absolute sweetheart," the blond praised. "We'll be back sometime tomorrow. Why?"

"_Well, the gang and I decided that we wanted to give you guys a 'Welcome Home' party for whomever you'd adopt, which would be Blair, and so we're kind of working on that right now_."

Joey narrowed his eyes. "There's somethin' you're not tellin' me, isn't there?"

"_Maybe_," came Yugi's hesitant reply.

"What…is…it?" the blond ground out.

"_We're kind of…at K-Kaiba's place…i-inside__?_"

"How'd you get in?" _That _got Seto's attention.

"Pup, what's going on?" the brunet demanded immediately. Joey just put on a smile and shooed him away.

"_Um…B-Bakura picked the lock and he and Marik broke inside. We went after them, but…I just want to let you know that I am really, really sorry!_"

Trying not to panic, he asked, "What happened? And wait! Are those sirens?"

"_Maybe_," Yugi repeated. "_Bakura and Marik set off fireworks inside Kaiba's living room! We didn't know they had them! Before we knew it, we heard them go off, and the living room was in flames! Please don't kill us when you get back!_" Yugi shrieked all in one breath.

Joey let the words sink in so that they could form coherent sentences in his mind. When he finally deciphered Yugi's message he—

"THEY DID WHAT?" he roared through the phone. The signal seemed to crackle from Joey's obvious distress.

"_Um…yeah, so, uh…the firemen are already here and taking care of the fire. We'll see you when you get back…o-or not. Bye!_" And then Yugi just…hung up.

Closing his phone with a shaky hand, the blond stared at Seto with a blank look plastered on his face.

"Puppy, what happened?" the brunet asked incredulously.

Joey opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He tried a couple more times before he was actually able to say anything. "With whatever I say, don't get mad at _me_. It's not my fault what happened."

Seto braced himself as he nodded. "Then tell me what happened."

"Yugi called and said that Bakura and Marik broke into the mansion," he started, swallowing hard. "Apparently, they wanted to throw a 'Welcome Home' party for Blair and…"

"And?"

"And…Bakura and Marik set…fireworks off in the living room. It caught on fire. Yugi called when the firemen were just arriving to put it out." Joey paused, watching as Seto's mood suddenly turned sour. But for some reason, he kept his cool.

Walking up to his Puppy, he whispered into his ear, "Don't get me wrong. I am _furious_ right now, but I promise you, I will _not _blow up in front of them…or you. We'll deal with this tomorrow when we get back."

Joey released an unsteady breath, not realizing he'd been holding it. Suddenly, he felt Seto's arms wrap around him comfortingly as he pulled him into a hug, kissing him briefly on the lips a few times.

"Thank ya," said the blond, holding him close. Deep down, Joey had been worried that if Seto had blown up in front of everyone because of this, Jaden and Blair would think it was directed at them. He knew enough about living in a household filled with yelling to know what kind of effect that would have on their kids.

"I know when to vent my anger and when not to. Now…is not one of those times. I probably will _tomorrow _at those morons. Just remember that I will never inflict how mad I am on you, our siblings, or our children; both physically and emotionally. That's what you were worried about, was it not?"

"A bit," Joey admitted reluctantly. It amazed him slightly how well Seto was getting to know him. "I was afraid that if ya went off that they'd be afraid of ya. I know better than anyone what it's like to be afraid of your own parent and I never want that to happen to them."

"I understand and completely agree with you," continued the brunet. "If you worry about tomorrow, you can't live today. I don't know about you, but I plan on having the time of my life. It's our first official day as a family. Let's not allow anything to hinder that."

His Puppy smiled and kissed him. "Stuff like that makes me love ya even more. Ya know that, don't ya?"

Seto's lips quirked up into a smile of his own. "It does, does it? Well—"

"I gotta go t' da baffroom!" Blair shouted, struggling in her stroller seat.

"I'm hungry!" Jaden said, putting his two cents in.

"Duty calls," stated Seto, releasing Joey and walking back over to the stroller.

"More like nature calls," corrected the blond, following his lover. Having a family and taking care of them _did _seem like a duty…but it was one worth doing. And they loved doing it. Nothing was _ever _going to change that.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	8. 2nd Monday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Monday**

By the time the limo pulled up to the mansion, Seto was seething. He wanted to get his hands of the idiots who'd not only _broken _into his home, but had set fireworks off in it as well! And after he was through with them, he was going after the ones who were supposed to have been watching them!

"Seto, ease up. If ya clench your fists any harder, you're gonna make your hands bleed," Joey whispered next to him.

The brunet glanced down at his hands, noticing their whitened color, his nails piercing his skin, but not enough to break it. Unclenching his taut fists, he took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst. And when the limo finally stopped, he opened the door immediately.

Seto stepped outside and reached back in it to grab Blair. Settling her on his hip, he reasoned that his little Princess would keep him under control.

"Aw we in anudda hotel?" Blair asked looking up at her Papa after seeing the mansion.

"No. This is our home and where you will be living from now on. With us," answered the brunet lovingly. He never thought that another person could ever melt his heart. Joey had been the first to break through, and when Jaden came along, it had melted even further. Now, with Blair, his heart felt complete.

The toddler seemed to think on this before saying, "Am I a pwincess?"

Seto had to laugh at that. "Not exactly. But you're _my _little Princess anyhow."

Joey smiled at the interaction between the two of them. It was just so adorable. "Let's get inside. I'll make everyone some lunch and then it's naptime."

"No!" Blair protested loudly.

"I don't wanna take a nap!" Jaden added.

"Jaden," Joey started, "we had a long trip and everyone is tired. But Blair won't take her nap without ya and she really needs one. Can ya do Daddy and Papa a favor by takin' a nap with your sister?"

The boy's small chest swelled proudly at the thought of taking care of his sister. "Okay."

Relieved that he'd at least appeased _one _of their kids, they all headed inside.

"They could have at least had the decency to meet us here," Seto grumbled when he entered the vacant mansion.

Joey sighed. "Mokuba? Serenity? Can ya call _all _our friends and tell them to come here before Seto blows a fuse. I'll work on makin' some lunch and we'll…where am I gonna put Jaden and Blair?" He didn't want them upstairs by themselves because he feared them falling down the stairs. The living room was in shambles, so they couldn't be in there—

"We'll make a spot for them in the dining room to take a nap and play. You work on lunch and I'll set them up. While Mokuba and Serenity get…_them_ here, I'll watch the kids," interceded the brunet.

"Before we start calling everyone, we'll bring our bags inside so Blair has some of her own things," said Mokuba.

"And after everyone gets here, Mokuba and I can work on setting up a bedroom for her," added Serenity.

The blond smiled at them brightly. "Thank ya," he replied earnestly. As he watched the two of them scamper off, he took a deep breath…and then felt a little dizzy. He was suddenly sweaty…but cold at the same time. And why was his heart beating so fast?

"Puppy!" Joey snapped out of his daze, his eyes focusing on Seto's worried ones. "Are you all right?"

Nodding slowly, the blond realized that the brunet was now holding him. When had that happened? Had he blacked out or something?

Noticing his Puppy's sudden disorientation, Seto carefully led him into the dining room and set him down on a chair, Jaden following behind while holding Blair's hand; they looked on worriedly.

"Do you feel sick or anything?" the brunet questioned, kneeling in front of him and examining his face.

"I just felt a bit dizzy," Joey answered, trying not to worry his lover any more than he needed to. But that proved to be hard since he was shaking.

"Has this been happening a lot?"

"No. It hadn't happened until now. But I'm okay. It was just a dizzy spell."

"You blacked out," the brunet stated curtly. "That wasn't just a dizzy spell. I'm calling my doctor."

"Don't," Joey gasped, gripping Seto's shirt tightly.

"Why not? There might be something wrong—"

"I know that," the blond cut in. His head was starting to hurt now. "I'm afraid of findin' out if there is." His voice was so soft, it was barely audible. But Seto heard every word.

"I'm calling him," he said firmly. Then he leaned in and kissed Joey gently on the lips.

"Hey, guys, we—what's going on?" Mokuba inquired when he reached the dining room with Serenity.

Seto rose to his feet, running his hand through the blond's hair. "I need to call my doctor and have him come check Joey out. He blacked out after you two left. Make sure he stays here." With that, the brunet left, leaving everyone to stare at Joey.

Serenity approached her brother and felt his forehead. "You don't have a fever. And you didn't eat today," she commented absently.

Eat? Of course he—wait…no he hadn't. So _that's _what it was. Joey made to move from the chair, but Serenity pushed him back down.

"You're not going anywhere. I'll make lunch for everyone," insisted Serenity. "And Mokuba will go see if the couch in the living room is okay. If it is, he'll bring it in here."

"I will?" Mokuba echoed in shock. How was _he _supposed to drag that couch in here? It weighed more than he did! "I…guess I'll go do that then."

As soon as Mokuba and Serenity left, Seto returned. "I called my doctor and he'll be here shortly. We'll move you upstairs and into bed. Then—"

"Seto, calm down," Joey interrupted. "Ya don't need to panic. I know what's wrong. But if it will make ya happy, I'll see the doctor anyway."

The brunet froze. "Huh?"

"Relax. I'll be fine after I eat somethin'. My blood sugar is just low."

"But…you said this hadn't happened until today," the brunet stated, repeating Joey's earlier words.

"It hasn't happened to me around _you_ before," the blond clarified. "Ya know I have a fast metabolism and I didn't get to eat much when I was…with my dad. And I'd black out when my blood sugar got too low. That's why I kept passin' out when I was…taken. I forgot to eat somethin' today since we were in such a hurry and I was makin' sure that everybody else ate before we left on our plane. And after everythin' that had happened…it just slipped my mind that it could be low blood sugar because I feared it would be somethin' else."

"Okay," said Seto, releasing all his pent up air in one breath. "I'd still like my doctor to take a look at you, though."

"Is Daddy gonna die?" Jaden asked suddenly.

"What? No. No! Daddy's not going to die," the brunet reassured him as he brought Jaden and Blair over to Joey.

"I'm just a bit tired and hungry, that's all," added the blond. He pulled the two small children into a hug. "There's nothin' for you guys to worry about."

"Lunch is ready!" Serenity called as she entered the dining room. Joey and Seto were thankful for the distraction. She'd brought a pile of grilled cheese sandwiches cut into fourths, some sweet potato fries, pretzels, applesauce, and some milk.

"I've taught ya well," chuckled Joey, eyeing the food with interest. His sister had brought a very balanced meal and everything there both Jaden and Blair could eat. Although, he'd probably have to watch Blair eat the pretzels…just in case.

"Can somebody help me?" Mokuba cried pitifully from outside the dining room.

Seto strode out the door and found his little brother…in an awkward position. He had somehow managed to get himself trapped between the doorway of the living room and the couch.

"Please hurry, Seto! I can't breathe!" the younger Kaiba panicked.

Rolling his eyes, the brunet strode over to him and pushed the couch away from him. "You only got your leg stuck. How could you not breathe?"

Mokuba shrugged his shoulders. "I thought it would get you to help me faster."

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose. "And why are you dragging the couch out here?"

"I'm bringing it into the dining room. Since the…living room is out of order, we're gonna turn the dining room into the new living room. Somehow, the couch made it."

The brunet groaned. He hadn't even ventured into the dreaded living room yet. "How bad is it?"

"Um…remember when I was six and got sick and you picked me up to ask if I was okay and I threw up and it went into your mouth?" he asked in a rush. Seto willed away the unbidden memory and nodded. "And do you remember how you felt at that moment?"

"I do," he growled out.

"Well…it's worse than that. Can you help me get the couch into the dining room now? It's kind of heavy."

Oh, yes. He was _definitely _going to murder someone.

* * *

Seto wished he could split himself in two. Both his doctor and their…_friends_ had arrived at the same time. On the one hand, he wanted to sit with Joey while his doctor took a look at him. On the other hand, he wanted to give these…_people _a piece of his mind.

"Hey. What's a doctor doing here?" asked Bakura when he and the rest of the gang entered the mansion.

"He's here to put you back together again after I rip you all apart," the brunet spat at them.

"Mr. Kaiba, is that attitude really necessary?" his doctor, Dr. Henry, scolded.

"They broke into my home and set off fireworks in my living room! I do not need a lecture from you! Now, attend Joey before I do some grievous bodily harm!" Seto roared.

"Um…where is he?" Dr. Henry asked meekly. He knew when not to probe.

"Dining room." And with that, Dr. Henry scampered toward said room, not wanting to be in the path of the furious brunet. "As for you imbeciles, living room! Now!"

The gang raced for the place they'd destroyed—well, not all of them—and awaited Seto's…punishment. When the brunet followed after them, he slammed the door shut with a resounding bang, trapping them inside. The setting was so tense; it felt like they'd been caged with a wild animal. And maybe they were; a dragon bent on spilling blood.

Seto let his eyes pan over the group. Yugi, Yami, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, Marik, Tea, Tristan, and Duke all stared at him expectantly. They were both terrified and eager to hear him speak.

"What the hell were you thinking breaking into my mansion? And then you go and set fireworks off in my living room? Look at this place!"

And they did. The ceiling was as black as the night sky. Anything and everything had either been singed or burnt to a crisp. With the walls needing obvious repair and the beams replacing, the carpet appeared an ashen mess. The living room was like a replica of Pompeii's destruction after Mt. Vesuvius' sudden eruption. Except it didn't have any human remains…_yet_.

"Where the fuck did you even _get _fireworks?" Seto exclaimed, his face getting red.

"We…made them?" Marik offered as an explanation. Malik had always told him to be honest, but with the expression the raging brunet suddenly gave him, he was beginning to think some things were better left unsaid.

"It's not like anyone got hurt," Bakura quipped.

"And Kaiba, I do believe you have enough money to fix this place up," added Yami in a condescending tone. "Obviously a mistake was made here, but you shouldn't hold it against them."

"That's not the point." Seto's voice was deathly calm. "This home belongs to me and my family and it should be respected. You had _no _right to break into it. You _should _know by now that you need to keep an eye on your…counterparts. You set _fire _to my living room! Take responsibility!"

"Kaiba, no one got hurt," emphasized Yami.

"I know that!" the brunet snapped. "But somebody could have! What if we'd been home? What if Jaden had been in here when you decided to set off fireworks? If this is the kind of stuff that's going to happen around all of you then I want no part of it. I don't want you anywhere _near _my family until you can prove that you've grown up."

"Papa?"

Seto's demeanor changed immediately when he heard Blair calling for him. Spinning on his heel, he spotted the tiny girl standing in the doorway holding a teddy bear. He walked over to her and picked her up.

"Hey, Princess. Why aren't you with Daddy?" he asked gently, which just freaked everyone else out. "I have some…friends to talk to."

"About what?"

"They made a big mess in here and it made me mad at them, so I'm talking to them about it," he replied as basically as he could.

"Then make 'em clean it up."

The answer to his problems was so blatantly simple. And it had been told to him by his two-year-old daughter. Seto grinned evilly and turned back to the gang. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Blair, my little Princess. And perhaps you should do as she says. I don't care how long it takes, but _all _of you will clean this place up until it looks brand new. Is that understood?"

They nodded, feeling as if they'd stepped into an alternate universe. Seto screaming at that had frightened them; seeing the little girl and how it had changed him alarmed them; and hearing the brunet call her his little Princess had them quaking in their boots—if they wore boots, that is.

Seto left the living room with Blair still in his arms and headed back to the dining room, where he spotted Dr. Henry putting away his things. Joey was sitting on the couch they'd managed to drag into the room.

"Is everything all right?" the brunet asked, setting Blair down. She raced over to play with Jaden.

"Mr. Wheeler seems to have hypoglycemia," started Dr. Henry. Seeing that his explanation had made the brunet pale, he decided to make himself clearer. "It's the more technical term for low blood sugar. His glucose or sugar level in his blood was too low. I'd like it if he were to rest for a bit. No over-exercising and make sure he gets a fair intake of carbohydrates. In other words, make sure he eats three decent meals a day, snacks included. He should be fine."

As he made his way to leave, Seto punched him in the shoulder. "Don't scare me like that," the brunet snapped. "You should know me well enough by now to know not to throw medical terminology at me."

"I'll…keep that in mind, Mr. Kaiba," replied Dr. Henry as he rubbed his shoulder. "You know where to find me." With that said, he left.

"So, are you going to tell me what you did?" The sound of Joey's voice brought Seto's attention back to him.

"I…lectured them about what happened in the living room. And I might have said that I don't want any of them near our family until they can…grow up. I'm having them clean up the living room," he answered slowly.

The blond sat there and stared at him for a full minute before speaking again. "I agree with your decision to a degree. They've lost their privilege to babysit. If they want to spend time with the kids or us then it will be while both of us are present."

Smiling at his Puppy, Seto sat down next to him on the couch. He cupped Joey's face and kissed him. "Do you want to go upstairs and get some rest?"

The blond shook his head. "I'd rather stay down here with ya and our little ones. Speakin' of which, these two are overdue for a nap."

"You could use a nap, too," said the brunet as he rose to his feet. "Jaden? Blair? It's time for a nap."

"Don't wanna," whined Blair.

"I'm not tired," Jaden insisted.

"But Daddy's going to take a nap. You two can take one with him."

They both dropped their toys and nodded. Having naptime with Daddy was okay. Seto led them over to the couch where Joey had already laid down.

"What's this?" the blond asked amusedly.

"We're gonna take a nap, too," said Jaden.

Seto watched as his Puppy moved to lie on his back while their kids climbed on top of him. Good thing the couch was big. Blair snuggled up on the blond's left while Jaden curled up on his right. Joey stroked both their faces lovingly until they fell asleep. And soon, he grew drowsy as well.

But a sudden rustling got his attention and his eyes rested on Seto putting a blanket over them. When that was done, the brunet pulled a chair next to them and sat with his feet propped up on the other end of the couch. He ran his fingers through Joey's hair a few times before settling into the cushioned chair more comfortably. Soon, his Puppy had fallen asleep as well, a pleasant smile on his face.

His heart warmed at the sight of them. He never knew that he'd ever have something as precious as his own family. A little brother, a lover, his lover's sister, a son, and a daughter. They meant the world to him now. And he'd do anything to keep it that way.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	9. 2nd Tuesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Tuesday**

Joey peeked into the living room. It was early morning and no one else was up yet. As he quietly stepped into the room, he noticed that nearly all his friend were splayed out awkwardly in strange positions; it looked like they'd just fallen asleep where they'd dropped. Taking in the actual surroundings, he realized that they had cleaned up mostly everything. All that needed to happen now was for the remodeling to be done…and Seto had already made the orders.

Leaving the living room, he proceeded down the hall and into the kitchen. It was time to get some breakfast started. And he had a lot of people to feed.

* * *

Seto woke with a start when he felt something pounce on him. He was ready to attack when he realized it was Jaden.

"Daddy says it's time to get up!"

The brunet groaned. Why'd he have to be so loud?

"Papa!" Jaden whined, bouncing on the bed. When that didn't work, he pulled the pillow out from under his Papa's head, making it hit the mattress. The small boy giggled.

"I'm up," Seto said groggily as he rose to a sitting position. What time was it? _Seven_? His Puppy wanted him up at _seven _in the morning? During the summer? Why? He didn't have to go in to work because during the summer because he could do everything at home! So why—

"Papa! Daddy says if ya don't come down for breakfast, he's not givin' ya any."

Seto gaped. How could Joey say that to a child?

"Come on," said Jaden as he tugged on the brunet. "I don't want ya to not get any breakfast."

Wait…so his Puppy _hadn't _been referring to sex? "Okay, okay. Just let me get dressed and I'll come down."

Quickly making his way into the bathroom, he cursed himself for letting his mind think that as he got dressed and cleaned himself up. Of _course _Joey wouldn't implicate sex in front of their son. But maybe he'd phrased the statement in such a way to Jaden that it could be interpreted multiple ways. For Jaden, the "any" would mean breakfast and for himself, "any" would mean sex. He really did have a clever lover.

Leaving the bathroom, the small boy hopped off the bed, grabbing Seto by the hand and practically dragging him downstairs and into the dining room.

"We're here for breakfast!" Jaden called out.

It was then that Seto noticed…_the gang_. They were still here? It meant they hadn't finished with the living room. As his eyes panned the crowd devouring breakfast, he spotted Yami, who now sported a black eye.

"What happened to you?" the brunet questioned the former pharaoh. Yami narrowed his eyes.

* * *

**_Flashback_**

"_And finally, this is your Uncle Yami," said Joey as he introduced Blair to him._

_Yami crouched down in front of her so that he could be on her level. "Hello, Blair," he started. "You really are a little princess, aren't you?"_

_WHAP!_

_Blair hit him in the face with her teddy bear. "Only Papa can call me a pwincess!"_

**_End Flashback_**

* * *

Seto snickered after hearing about their little interaction. _That's my girl_, he thought to himself proudly.

"It's about time ya got down here," scolded Joey.

The brunet turned to face him and immediately hate a plate of food thrust into his hands as well as a cup of coffee. Then he remembered. "I heard that if I didn't come down, I wouldn't be getting any."

"Ya came down, so ya got some," replied the blond.

"Well, since I came down, does that mean I get _some_," the brunet said, smirking.

"What are ya talkin' about?"

"What you said to Jaden! Didn't you mean—"

"Oh, God! Why are ya always so—get your mind outta the gutter!" snapped his blushing Puppy, who was now whacking him in the arm.

Okay…so _maybe _he'd been wrong about the "any" meaning sex thing.

* * *

It was amusing seeing Bakura so…animated about moving furniture. He was acting like an expert at feng shui or something.

"Not over there!" snapped the former thief. "The couch needs to be over here, directly in front of the entertainment system, not at an angle! Who bloody watches television from an angle? I'm getting a crook in my neck just thinking about it!"

"I'd say they did a fairly good job," commented Joey. "What do ya think?"

"I think I'm going to need about four more aspirin by the time this day is over," replied Seto, feeling the ache already starting in his temples. And to make things worse, he felt his phone vibrate. "What?" he snapped when answering it.

The blond watched as his lover's expression grew grim.

"Can't they be sent to headquarters instead?" Seto asked the person on the phone. "I see. And you need both of us?" he sighed. "All right. I understand. Tomorrow it is."

The brunet shut his phone and stared blankly in front of him.

"Is everythin' all right?" Joey asked hesitantly, placing an arm on Seto's arm.

"Not exactly," he ground out. "I want everybody out! Go home!"

"But we're not done!" Yugi exclaimed.

"I don't care! Go home!" the brunet repeated.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and left the mansion, confused by the harsh tone Seto had used on them. When the last of them left, the brunet wandered over to the couch and flopped into it, pinching the bridge of his nose in the process.

"We have to leave on a business trip tomorrow," started Seto. "Meaning just the two of us. The kids have to stay here."

"What? Why?" implored the blond.

"You're co-CEO of Kaiba Corp."

"Ya were serious about that?"

"Yes. And they need us to sign some papers for starting the construction of Duel Academy. They want us to inspect the location, make sure it's up to our standards, we sign the papers, and that is the end of it. I knew this day would be coming soon; I just didn't think it would be _this _soon. We're leaving tomorrow."

Joey swallowed convulsively as he sat next to Seto. They had to leave the kids? "How long will we be gone?"

"A couple days. A week at the most." Seto noticed the distraught look on the blond's face; it mirrored the exact way he felt. "I know this is hard for you to take in, but…that's business. I'll try to do whatever I can to protect you from having to go on business trips so that there is at least one of us here to take care of the kids. But this time…it's unavoidable."

His Puppy nodded. Having to leave his family to work had never occurred to him before. And he sure as hell wasn't liking it, but he had to be strong for his family and the business.

"Um…what are we gonna do about the kids?" Joey asked.

"We don't need anyone to watch them. Serenity and Mokuba are old enough to take care of themselves, along with Jaden and Blair. If they have any emergencies, they can call Yugi's place. They're the only ones I would actually trust in this matter."

The blond nodded in agreement, but his heart still tore at the fact that he actually had to leave his family.

"Hey," said Seto, pulling his Puppy into his arms. "Everything is going to be fine. We'll be back before you know it."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	10. 2nd Wednesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Wednesday**

Joey stood at the front door, his and Seto's bags at his feet, feeling anxious about leaving his family behind because he had to go on a business trip. Hell, he didn't even know where the fuck they were going. But he hoped it wouldn't be long.

"I gave ya a list of emergency contacts, so call if anythin' happens. Remember to eat and go to bed on time. Don't stay up too late. And make sure that Jaden and Blair get their naps in, too," the blond rambled.

"We'll be fine," assured Serenity. "And I'll make sure to do the cooking. You taught me what to do."

"Okay…it's just—"

"Everything's going to be okay. Seto's gone on business trips before and had to leave me behind," said Mokuba. "I know what to do if anything goes wrong." That said, Seto finally made it to the front door.

"As soon as we get there, we'll try to contact you, okay?" added Seto, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Are ya gonna come back?" Jaden asked quietly.

"Of course we're comin' back," gasped Joey, kneeling down in front of the small boy. "We have to go on a little trip because of work, but Uncle Mokie and Autnie Ren will be lookin' after ya while we're gone." He stroked Jaden's face affectionately.

The small boy nodded and took Blair's hand. Although the kids would never say it, they didn't want them to go.

"I love ya all," whispered the blond, kissing and hugging all of them as he fought back tears. "We'll be back as soon as we can." After Seto gave a similar goodbye, he waited for Joey to finish round two of hugs and kisses before they finally made it out the door and into the waiting limo. The image of the four of them watching them go burned into their minds.

Seto reached out and held Joey's hand in his as a means to comfort him. This was _not _a situation the blond was familiar with, and he knew how his Puppy felt about leaving them behind.

"I'm gonna miss them."

The brunet smiled sadly at Joey's confession. "I'm going to miss them, too."

"Does it ever get any easier?"

Seto looked out the window, contemplating his answer. "No. It was hard before…leaving Mokuba by himself. And now that I have you, and our family has grown…it's just gotten harder. We're going to have to figure out what we're going to do. I don't like the fact that both of us need to leave for a business trip."

"Then it looks like we have a big talk ahead of us."

* * *

They didn't know what to do. The mansion didn't feel like a home without Seto and Joey. It was quiet…and big…and empty.

"Let's go somewhere," Mokuba announced suddenly. He knew enough about Seto's business trips to know that staying home alone was like being kept in a prison. And he wanted to keep the others away from that feeling as long as possible.

"Okay," Serenity replied slowly, "but where should we go?"

"We can go to the mall. Maybe do some shopping, get something to eat, and pick up a couple things that we can do at home to distract us—um…I mean, to kill some time before bed."

"That sounds good to me. What do you two think? Wanna go to the mall?" Serenity asked them. Jaden and Blair looked up at them with tear-filled eyes, but nodded nonetheless.

"To the mall it is," said Mokuba.

* * *

"We have to take a copter?" Joey exclaimed, gawking at the helicopter he was being led to.

"Yes. It's the quickest way there," answered Seto.

"There? Where is there? Ya haven't even told me where the fuck we're goin'!"

The brunet sighed. "We're headed for the island Duel Academy will be built on. After we land, we'll be set up in a trailer that will serve as our living quarters for the duration of our stay. Once we get settled, we'll take a tour of the island. Tomorrow, we'll go over the plans and make any other alterations that need to be made before construction can begin. We'll sign off on the papers if we don't encounter any problems, and then we'll get to come home."

Nodding slightly, the blond eyed the copter warily. Why did they have to go on a helicopter?

"You okay, Pup?"

"Yeah." His voice came out strangled. "I just don't like the idea of ridin' in somethin' like that. So if ya suddenly find me attached to your arm and holdin' on for dear life, just let me."

"I will," Seto chuckled as he placed his arm around Joey's shoulders.

* * *

"So, what should we do first?" asked Serenity once they entered the mall.

"Let's get somethin' for Daddy and Papa," Jaden suggested, tugging on Mokuba's hand.

"That's a great idea! How about we go get some things and make something for them for when they come back?" said Mokuba.

"Like what?" started Blair, who was currently sucking on her thumb.

"We can go to the art shop and get some paints, paper, and all kinds of other stuff. Then we can draw them lots of pictures," Serenity answered.

The two smaller children seemed to like the idea, so the four of them ventured through the mall in search of arts and crafts products. When they finally reached the art shop, they hurriedly busied themselves with grabbing as much art supplies as they could possibly carry. And before they knew it, they were leaving the shop loaded up with more than enough stuff to make a huge mess.

* * *

They had finally landed on the fucking island and Joey wasn't looking too hot. About a half an hour into the flight, not only had the blond gripped onto Seto for dear life, but he'd also gotten quite airsick.

"Can you show us where we're staying?" the brunet inquired sternly. He wanted to see to his Puppy to make sure he was feeling better before venturing off into the unknown of this so-called island.

"This way, sir," said one of his employees, leading him down a dirt pathway. "Unfortunately, the trailer that was promised you didn't actually make it, so we have to make do with something else."

"And what would _be _that something else?" There was no way he was staying in some fucking tent. Camping was _not _on his to-do list.

"An RV?" Joey announced suddenly.

"Yes," stuttered the employee upon reaching their destination. "It was the best we could do—"

"Is it at least hooked up to electricity and water?" Seto demanded.

"Yes, sir."

"Then I see no problems. Leave us and we'll be ready to head out in an hour or two." The employee didn't have to hear that twice, for he scampered away like a startled field mouse. "Let's go."

Seto opened the rickety screen-door thing—he was actually surprised it didn't fall off its hinges—and stepped inside, Joey trailing behind him. There was a small kitchenette that had a stove, sink, and microwave as well as a few cabinets, some drawers that could possibly hold their belongings, a wobbly dining table, a tiny bathroom that had nothing but a toilet, sink, and pitiful shower, and a couch…that pulled out into a bed.

"This place is a dump," the brunet mumbled under his breath.

"It's better than nothin'," said Joey, setting down his bags. "I would have killed for somethin' like this while I'd been livin' with my dad."

Seto suddenly felt guilty for making such a comment. He knew the blond had lived a tough home life, barely having enough to survive. But it somehow amazed him, also, how when Joey would say something like that, it would…humble him in a way.

Joey wandered over to the cabinets and looked through them. "They're stocked with food, but not really great stuff. I can't believe there's no fridge. Don't these things normally have fridges?"

"Is that what that is?" asked the brunet, pointing at something that looked like a cabinet, only larger. He watched as Joey opened it, cool air blowing out as he did so.

"What do ya know? A mini fridge," the blond didn't sound too happy. "So we have…half a gallon of milk and six eggs. Joy. Looks like I'm gonna have to get creative with the meals."

"Well, the less time we spend here, the less you'll have to try and get creative," replied Seto, tossing his bags onto the couch. It made a weird creaking sound when he did so.

Joey shut the fridge and sighed as he wandered back over to his bags. Picking one up, he set it on the dining table and…a leg popped off. "Shit," he grumbled, trying to stick the damn thing back on. When he finally succeeded, he unzipped his bag and reached in to pull out a change of clothes. But something else grazed his fingers. What was it?

Opening the bag even further so he could see, tears immediately stung his eyes at the sight before him. Apparently, Jaden and Blair had thought it appropriate to give them a pair of stowaways. Pulling out the two teddy bears, he hugged them and sniffed.

Confused by Joey's sudden sniffling, Seto turned from his own bag and spotted the blond rocking from side to side as if he were cradling something. "Is everything all right, Puppy?" His only response was a bit of shaky nodding. Sighing, the brunet walked up to his lover and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind while resting his chin on the blond's shoulder. "You miss them."

"I-I thought I c-could hold it t-together, b-but then I found these," stammered Joey. "I d-don't like bein' away f-from them, Seto."

"I know," replied the brunet, feeling tears come to his own eyes. He'd never felt this way before; he missed them so much. He was stronger than this…wasn't he? "I don't like it either."

* * *

"I think we should get them something to eat. They're getting cranky," Mokuba observed.

"Yeah. Maybe you should take them on a bathroom break and I'll go get us some food," stated Serenity. But before Mokuba could protest, she was already gone. How dare she leave him alone in the mall with two small kids?

"Okay, guys. We're gonna take a bathroom break." The young boy picked up Blair and took Jaden by the hand and wandered over to the bathrooms…then panicked. Which one was he supposed to use?

Blair was a girl! So she should be going into the women's restroom. But then Jaden was a boy! So he should go into the men's. But then he himself was a boy! So he couldn't take Blair into the women's or the men's!

Fidgeting in front of the doors for about a minute, he decided on one: the women's restroom. He cringed as he entered, awaiting screams or being hit with stuff. But when nothing happened, he peeked and found a couple older women staring at him.

"I'm sorry!" he sputtered. "My friend left me alone with them and I didn't know which bathroom to take them into and—"

"It's all right, dear," said one of the older ladies. "It's not a problem."

"Do you need any help?" offered the other one.

Mokuba sighed in relief. "That's okay. I think I got it," he said, and the older women continued to fix themselves up in the mirror.

Taking them into the biggest stall, he helped Blair use the toilet by holding her up some. When she was finished, he flushed the toilet, and set to straightening out her clothes until—

_Splash!_

"Help! I fell in!" Jaden cried as he struggled to get out of the toilet he'd fallen into. All Mokuba saw was a head and a pair of legs. Panicking once more, the young boy raced over to the smaller one and pulled him out.

"Are you okay?" Mokuba asked worriedly.

Jaden giggled. "That was fun!"

Not knowing whether he wanted to just pass out from the stress or run away, Mokuba set to drying Jaden off, also making sure the two small children looked impeccable before leaving the stall. How did Joey _do_ this?

"Let's wash your hands now." He picked them up one at a time so they could wash their hands while the older women watched with smiles on their faces.

As the women got ready to leave, they turned to Mokuba and said, "You're such a sweet young girl."

"I agree. You don't see such nice young ladies anymore," commented the other one.

Mokuba just gaped at them. They thought he was a _girl_?

"Are we gonna go now, Uncle Mokie?" questioned Jaden.

"Y-Yeah. Let's go." By the time they returned from the bathroom, Serenity was already there, waiting for them with a bunch of food in her hands.

"What took you guys so long?" she asked.

Mokuba opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it. Ah, hell. He was just going to ask. "Serenity, do I seem like a girl?"

* * *

Seto and Joey trudged back into the RV lethargically after their long day of wandering the island. Not only had they discovered that there was a _volcano_, but they'd also found a group of monkeys that had chased them for nearly half a mile because some stupid _brunet—_who would not be named—had decided to try and scare them off the trail they'd been taking. Boy, had that backfired. Who knew bananas could hurt so badly?

"Do…you want to take a shower, Puppy?" Seto asked slowly.

"No, I don't want to take a shower. I'm hot and I'm tired and I just wanna go to bed," the blond replied in a frustrated manner.

"Okay," said the brunet, placing his hands gently on his lover's shoulder to guide him out of the way so he could convert the couch into a bed. He yanked on it a few times before it actually budged, and when it locked in place, he pulled down the blankets. "Did you want to change?"

Joey didn't answer. He just snatched a change of clothes and locked himself in the bathroom. Seto watched him go then changed into his own set of clothes. Sighing, he sat on the bed. His Puppy was upset, but he didn't know if it was at him or not. It wasn't his fault that they didn't have a strong enough signal out here to call home and make sure everyone was okay. And it sure as hell wasn't his fault that there was no way of contacting _anyone _from this island. The copter would be back tomorrow afternoon to check if they'd be going home. Seto really hoped they'd be able to, because he wasn't sure if Joey could handle being away from their family much longer.

Suddenly, the blond opened the door and walked over to the dining table. He grabbed the two teddy bears and held them to his chest protectively. Seto rose and pulled Joey into his arms and kissed him with all the passion he could.

"I'm sorry how today went, Puppy. I know you're not comfortable with this situation, but I'm impressed by how you're handling it. I really am."

"What about ya?" the blond asked quietly.

"If I didn't have you with me right now, I think I might have actually broken down. You've done something to me, Puppy. You opened my heart to loving someone other than Mokuba. And I know what it's like to almost lose the ones you love. I don't like our situation anymore than you do. I'd give anything to be back home," he replied honestly.

Joey sighed and melted into Seto's warm embrace. "I love ya."

"I love you, too. Are you ready for bed now?"

His Puppy nodded mutely. Leading them to the bed, Seto got in first, Joey following. The blond pressed his back up against his lover's chest while hugging the teddy bears, content washing over him as the brunet pulled the blankets over them. Seto wrapped his arms around him again, breathing deeply as he kissed the blond's cheek. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

By the time they got home, it was pushing bedtime…for _all _of them. They dropped all of their bags from shopping out in the foyer and slowly plodded up of the stairs. After everyone had cleaned up and changed into their pajamas, the four of them stood out in the hallway, looking lost.

There was no one to tuck them in, no one to say goodnight to them and tell them they were loved, and no one to give them their final hug and kiss before they drifted off to sleep. It was so…lonely without—

"I want Daddy and Papa," Blair whined, echoing everyone else's thoughts.

"When are they comin' home?" Jaden asked in a similar tone.

"They might be back tomorrow night or the day after," answered Mokuba. But in all honesty, he wasn't sure. They hadn't even received a call from them.

"What do you usually do at night when Seto's away?" questioned Serenity.

The younger boy smiled halfheartedly and opened the door to Joey and Seto's bedroom. "I normally sleep in his room when he's away. Seto doesn't know that, though."

"Then we'll sleep here tonight," Serenity said finally.

Everyone bounded into the room, shutting the door behind them as they pulled down the blankets and crawled into the bed. Mokuba and Serenity lay on the outside while Jaden and Blair lay between them. Pulling the blankets over themselves, they inhaled the scent of their 'parents,' using that as a means of comfort so that they could fall into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	11. 2nd Thursday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Thursday**

Joey stifled a groan as he observed Seto's construction team argue about how to get the future student _to _the island. It was really pissing him off. They were talking about creating this whole landing strip thing for planes and whatnot. But the drawback was that it would eliminate the space needed for the dorms. And if this discussion continued the way it was, all of the blond's hard work would have been for nothing.

"Everybody just shut the hell up!" Joey finally snapped. Even Seto seemed surprised by his outburst, but they all quieted themselves, waiting expectantly for him to continue. "You're makin' this a whole lot harder than it needs to be."

"Sir, I don't mean to sound rude, but there is no other way for us to transport students to this island. Don't get me wrong, your designs are exquisite, but…it doesn't fit the layout of the island," said the project manager, Mr. Toshio.

"Either you're an idiot or you're refusin' to see any other options," stated the blond firmly. "I think it's both."

"You can't speak to me like that!"

"I'm as much your boss as Seto is, so shut up and listen."

Seto was quite taken aback by Joey's ruthlessness when handling his employees. He kind of liked it. "What do you suggest?"

The blond drew the plans to himself, exposing the layout of the island. "The main part of Duel Academy is set near the base of the volcano with the dorms surroundin' it from various distances and directions, leaving little to no room for _their _suggested landing strip. Everyone is _assumin' _that gettin' here by plane is the only option, but it isn't."

"Go on," said the brunet, intrigued.

"Ya see this strip of land over here? It looks like a very small island. What if we turn that into a landing platform for helicopters and the surroundin' area as a dock for ships? Helicopters can be used for emergencies only. And with the use of a ship to transport the students instead, you'll most likely only need to have one trip to deliver all the students. Furthermore, it would be an easier way to deliver supplies to the school…and more of them," continued Joey. "What do ya think?"

"That's a really good idea," started Seto. "That way, the students could get aboard a ship at the docks in Domino. Since that's where the company is, it would make sense that everyone would gather there to leave for the academy. It would make travel and checking in a lot more organized."

The blond smiled, proud by the fact that his idea had been accepted.

"Students could also gather at the airport and fly here," suggested Mr. Toshio, not wanting to feel outdone.

"But the island doesn't have room for a full landing strip. In order to do so, we'd have to eliminate a couple of the dorms and shrink the size of the school," interceded Joey.

"Mr. Wheeler, I don't think you understand how this business works," started the project manager in a condescending tone. "This will be an elite school and will surely have no room for students of a…lesser quality of living. Only students from prestigious families will be allowed in."

"What?" Joey gasped. That couldn't be true! Seto wouldn't—

"You are wrong, Mr. Toshio," Seto began, glaring heatedly at the man. "Students will be granted the privilege of attending if they meet the requirements of the written test as well as a duel. Their class is not an issue here."

"But Mr. Kaib—"

"I'm not finished," the brunet growled. "By patronizing _him_, you are patronizing _me_. And I don't take kindly to having my loved ones insulted. You're fired, Mr. Toshio. I have no room in this company for prejudiced individuals. This school is made for everyone who is ready and willing to learn. Now get out of my sight before I have someone remove you from it."

Mr. Toshio gaped, but stood up, leaving mutely. He was too stunned to do anything else.

"Let's go." Joey didn't even have a chance to respond, for Seto had yanked him from his seat and immediately dragged him back toward their RV. Once they were there, the brunet started packing their bags.

"Seto—"

"I can't believe the _nerve _of that man! How could he be so…so…"

"Blind? Closed-minded?" the blond offered. "That's just how…most people in the upper classes work. They see someone who's of a lower class of them and automatically believe they will amount to nothin'. It doesn't how smart or good ya are at anythin'. They'll always see ya as somethin' beneath them."

"But I don't—"

"I know ya don't. But that's because ya started out in a lower position and obtained a higher one. Hardly anyone knows of your past and where ya came from, so it's not an issue here."

"I hate knowing that you've spent your life being treated that way…and I didn't make life for you any easier, did I?" Seto plopped himself on the bed, his face buried in his hands.

"Things are different now," whispered Joey as he sat down next to him. "You've changed and you're a better man for it. You're the love of my life, a caring older brother, and a wonderful father. We have a family…one we never even dreamt of havin'. If anythin', we can give them the life we never got…and we'll do right by the world by raisin' them to be open-minded and well-rounded individuals."

Seto sighed, making eye contact with his Puppy. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Ya opened your heart. Everythin' else just fell into place."

* * *

"It's official. I don't want kids. Ow! What was that for?" Mokuba protested after being smacked in the head by Serenity.

"Boys are all the same," she sighed.

"Joey and Seto are boys," the young boy argued.

"No they're not. They're men." Mokuba stifled a groan after hearing that. "But don't worry. You'll get to that point eventually."

"How did we even get onto this subject?" He really wanted to redirect the conversation; it just made him think about what those old ladies had said all over again. "Let's just…handle _this_."

Both preteens stared at the disaster before them. It had all started out so innocently. But for some reason, what had started out as a simple finger painting project had turned into an all out home redecorating scheme. And it wasn't pretty.

The paint had somehow made its way onto the ceiling of the kitchen, along with the cabinets, counters, floor…and just about every surface imaginable. Even Jaden and Blair. When this idea of doing finger painting had spontaneously struck them, the kitchen seemed like the best place because if they made a mess, there was a sink right there to assist in the cleanup. Alas, there was more cleanup than they were capable of doing.

"Who do you think is gonna be more mad? Seto or Joey?" Mokuba inquired.

"Joey. Definitely Joey," Serenity replied. "The kitchen is his turf. And when he sees it—"

"Maybe if he sees that we took really good care of Jaden and Blair, he won't be mad!" They both looked toward the two small children, who were covered from head to toe in paint.

Hopefully, the paint wasn't permanent.

* * *

"I can't wait to get home!" Joey exclaimed delightedly as he and Seto made their way to the helicopter. It was late evening, and by the time they would get back home, the kids would already be in bed.

"Same here," Seto commented in a similar tone. "Tomorrow, I think we should discuss what we're going to do. We have a family now and we can't have the both of us leaving on business trips."

"We'll figure out somethin'. Let's just take it one step at a time and figure out our options."

"Sounds like a plan," the brunet smiled as he pushed his Puppy toward the waiting helicopter. The blond groaned. "You took the Dramamine this time, didn't you?"

"That doesn't mean it's gonna stay down long enough for it to even have a chance to prevent motion sickness."

Seto chuckled and pulled Joey to him. "Well, then if you have to puke your guts out, make sure to face away from me."

"If ya keep this up, I might just _aim _for ya."

* * *

"I don't understand why it's so difficult to remove paint from a tiny human being."

"You sounded a lot like Seto just now," laughed Serenity. When Mokuba just gave her an appalled look, she continued. "What? You seemed so technical."

"I am not my brother," he deadpanned. This wasn't improving his situation, for Serenity just laughed even more. Sighing in agitation, he said, "Let's just go to bed. I doubt our brothers are gonna be back tonight. It's already half past ten."

"You're right," replied the young girl as she finished dressing Blair in her pajamas. Jaden was already dressed in his. Both small children rubbed their eyes sleepily.

Picking up Jaden and Blair, the four of them returned to Seto and Joey's bedroom, setting themselves up in the bed much like they'd done the night before. And before they knew it, they'd drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"You're awfully giddy, Puppy. Happy to be home?" Seto asked once they stepped through the door.

Joey clutched the two teddy bears to his chest, ecstatic as he nodded. "We'll put the bags in our room and then I want to go check on them."

"Okay."

They went up the stairs and over to their bedroom door. Opening it, they stepped into the room and stopped. There, lying out before them in their bed, were Mokuba, Serenity, Jaden, and Blair. The four were curled up under the blankets fast asleep.

"I guess they really missed us," whispered Seto, a weird expression on his face. He wasn't sure what he should be feeling right now. It was like a mixture between happiness and grief. The brunet had never known that he could _be_ missed as much as _he _missed.

Not having the heart to wake them, Joey tiptoed over to the four sleeping soundly on the bed and placed a teddy bear each with Jaden and Blair. The two subconsciously hugged the stuffed animals to them and snuggled deeper into the blankets.

"We should sleep downstairs for the night," the blond stated quietly as he led Seto back over to the bedroom door. As soon as they stepped out, Joey shut the door as silently as he could so as not to wake them.

"That was…refreshing," the brunet said suddenly.

"What do ya mean?"

"I've…never once heard from Mokuba that he missed me while being away on a business trip. But when we saw them sleeping in our bed…it shows that they do miss us as much as we miss them. Although…they'll never admit that. I wonder if Mokuba ever slept in my bed while I was gone."

"Knowin' him, he probably did." Joey smiled as he thought it over. "It's a good feelin'. Bein' missed. It shows that…we're loved without anyone actually sayin' it."

"I agree. And I look forward to seeing their faces in the morning when they realize we're back home," Seto replied earnestly.

His Puppy nodded in agreement and they left for the living room. Sleeping—even if it was on a couch—just seemed a whole lot easier when it was at home.

* * *

**End Chapter**

**Please Review!**


	12. 2nd Friday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 12 – Friday**

Seto flew off the couch when he heard a high-pitched scream sound throughout the mansion like something on some horror film. His head nearly missing the table in front of the couch, he frantically fought with the blanket that was caught around his legs. When he finally managed to free himself, the brunet bolted out of the living room, down the hall, and into the kitchen; it was the only place that could project a sound like that.

"Puppy! Is everything o…kay?" he trailed off as he took in the kitchen's new décor. "What the hell?"

"We were only gone _two _days!" Joey exclaimed, his breathing becoming rapid. "How could they—"

"At least they didn't burn the place down," Seto mumbled under his breath. He didn't see what the big deal was. It was just paint and it could easily be cleaned. Well…the paint _had _dried, so maybe not so much. But then again, he could always call someone in to redecorate the place. And he could have his Puppy be in charge of that. Then he could have the kitchen look like he wanted.

"How am I supposed to cook with this mess?" the blond moaned.

Cook? That was something Seto hadn't considered. And his rumbling stomach suddenly changed the outlook he had. "Those kids are in for it."

"What do ya mean in for it?" Joey started anxiously, rounding on him.

It was then the brunet realized how his expression had come off. "I don't mean punishing them physically, if that's what you thought I implied."

The blond seemed to relax. "I know. Ya just…took me by surprise. My dad used to say that when he was mad and…well, ya know…"

Seto squeezed his eyes shut. He'd done it again. He'd unintentionally made his Puppy think about his painful past. Why did he always end up doing that?

A pair of soft, warm hands soon found their way to the brunet's face, stroking him as if trying to relax his tense features. "I didn't mean to react the way I did," Joey stated softly. "It's just…a habit…a reaction. So don't go beatin' yourself up over it."

Sighing, Seto opened his eyes, leaning down to rest his forehead against the blond's. "I'm sorry, too. I didn't think before I spoke…again."

Joey wrapped his arms around his lover's waist and rested his head on the brunet's shoulder. "What are we gonna do about the kitchen?"

"I'm sure they meant well. We'll give them a chance to explain themselves and go on from there, I guess."

"Agreed. So…what do ya want for breakfast? Cereal or cereal?"

* * *

Jaden slowly woke, confused because he was holding something in his arms. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that it was the teddy bear he'd stowed away in Daddy and Papa's bag. And upon further inspection, it looked like Blair had hers, too. That meant—

"Daddy and Papa are home!" he cried exuberantly, jolting everyone into wakefulness, promptly making Mokuba fall out of bed due to his shock.

"What? How do you know that?" inquired the young boy as he picked himself up off the floor.

"We got our teddies back," explained Jaden, showing him his teddy bear.

This simple statement gradually dawned on them. If Joey and Seto were really home, then that meant they'd see—

"The kitchen!" Mokuba and Serenity cried simultaneously.

* * *

Nearly fifteen minutes later, the young preteens had dressed themselves and the two small ones, and were currently headed downstairs to endure the wrath of Seto…or Joey. Their bets were on Joey.

They quietly tiptoed through the hallway, but paused when they heard sounds coming from the dining room. Peeking inside through the open door, they saw that the table had been set up with breakfast, with Seto sitting at one end of the table with a newspaper and Joey still setting up the table. And when he saw them, his eyes lit up.

"Daddy!" Jaden and Blair cried, racing over to the blond. He picked both of them up and hugged them, showering them with kisses.

"We missed ya," Joey cooed. "I love ya two so much."

"Aw you gonna go 'way again?" Blair asked, looking up at him.

"Papa and I are gonna talk about that, so hopefully we won't," the blond replied.

"Don't I get a hug?" Seto questioned teasingly from his seat.

"Papa!" they cried again, struggling out of Joey's arms so they could jump into the brunet's outstretched ones.

Mokuba and Serenity watched the interaction in silence. They were confused. Joey obviously had to go into the kitchen in order to prepare breakfast, but he hadn't said a word yet about the mess in the kitchen. Had they somehow been transported into an alternate universe or something?

"Don't ya guys want a hug, too?" inquired Joey as he stepped up to them. Being too shocked to answer, they let the blond hug them, kissing them each on the head. "We really _did _miss ya guys."

"We didn't mean for it to happen!" Mokuba blurted. He couldn't handle the pressure any longer.

"Didn't mean for what to happen?" Joey responded as if he didn't know what he was talking about.

"We know you saw the kitchen and the paint everywhere," Serenity replied solemnly. "We just wanted to make something for you and Seto for when you came back."

"It was just finger painting, but then…we kinda lost the paints," Mokuba continued.

"Lost them how?" the blond questioned further.

"Well…the little containers of paint were all open and we were getting ready to take them away, but Jaden and Blair disagreed. So a little tug-of-war happened and it…ended up flinging the paints everywhere," elaborated Serenity.

"We're really sorry, Joey. Honest. We meant to clean up the kitchen yesterday, but it took forever to clean up just Jaden and Blair. We'll do it today if you want," insisted the young boy.

"That won't be necessary," said Joey, shocking the two even further. "I'm glad ya were bein' truthful and took responsibility, so you're not gonna be punished. And besides, the both of ya look awfully repentant."

"You're not mad then?" Mokuba asked hesitantly.

"I was when I first saw it, but then this gives me an excuse to have the kitchen decorated the way I want. I can finally have me dream kitchen," he laughed in response.

The two preteens didn't quite know how they slid by with that one, but they were grateful for it.

* * *

"Joey, do you mind coming with me to my study? You know, my home office?" started Seto.

"Sure," replied the blond, following the brunet down the hall and into the study. "Did ya wanna talk about somethin'?"

"Yes. I want to discuss our future…with both our family and the company. Since we're co-CEOs of Kaiba Corp., we'll both be taking the entire summer off. This will allow us to refrain from going on any business trips. However, we will keep up with what's going on with the company at home."

"What about after summer is over?"

"That's where it gets a little tricky," continued Seto. "I plan to work on weekdays at the company on your typical nine to five shift and I won't work weekends, but will more than likely check on things from my laptop. I would prefer it if you'd be…the stay-at-home parent, if you know what I mean. Any work that you do can be done online. And your pay will continue to be sent to your account."

"Wait. What account?" the blond inquired. This was the first time he'd heard of this.

"I…didn't tell you?" the brunet began slowly.

"Tell me what?"

"I set up a personal account for you. The money within it is for you to do with as you please. There's also a trust fund for Mokuba that he'll get when he's eighteen and I put a certain about of money in it per year. I also set up a trust fund for Serenity as well; since she's two years older than Mokuba, there's more in hers. And I've just recently set up trust funds for Jaden and Blair. So far, all their trust funds have the amounts they should have."

"Ya…when were ya gonna tell me about this?"

"I'd meant to, I swear. I just kept getting distracted with everything that had gone on."

"So…how much am I makin' then?" Joey wasn't sure if he wanted to know or not.

"Since I made you co-CEO, I split my income in half so that you'd get the other half. I _was _making about thirty million a year…so you'll be receiving half that. You're getting over one million a month."

Seto watched as his Puppy gaped at him. Apparently, that had been a _lot _more than he'd been expecting.

"That's too much, Seto. I can't—"

"Listen to me. I don't care what you do with the money. It's yours. But if anything were to happen, I'll be glad knowing it's there for you if you need it."

Joey sighed in defeat. What the hell could he do with all that money? It was more than he could possibly have imagined.

"And…I know you were worried about business trips, so I've decided to set up a team that can handle all foreign affairs. There might be occasions where I'll be called away on business, but you'll be exempt from that. Okay?"

"Okay," the blond replied softly. "You really put a lot of thought into this."

"I had to. My family is my priority now."

Well, _that _was something Joey couldn't ignore. And he was going to show Seto exactly what he meant. Stepping closer to the brunet, he yanked his lover's head down for a heated kiss. Just as it was getting good, his fucking cell phone rang.

Pulling away, Joey opened his phone and snapped, "What?"

"_Um…hi, Joey. Is this a bad time?_"

"Oh! Sorry, Yugi. No, it's not. What's up?"

"_Well, the gang and I were thinking and we wanted to make it up to you guys for the…living room disaster. So…we were wondering if you guys would like to come camping with us this weekend._"

"By this weekend, do you mean tomorrow?"

"_Yep! We'll handle all of the supplies! All you guys need to do is bring clothes and any essentials that Jaden and Blair might need. Well?_"

Joey looked over at Seto, who _really _wanted to know what was going on. The more he imagined the brunet in a camping scene, the more he wanted to do it. "Sure. We'll do it."

"_Great! We'll pick you guys up tomorrow at seven! See you then!_"

"Bye, Yugi!" Shutting his phone, he stared at Seto with a smug look on his face.

The brunet _really _didn't like the look he was receiving. "What did you just agree to?"

"We're goin' campin' with the gang this weekend," his Puppy replied.

Camping? Seto felt his stomach drop to the floor. They were going _camping_?

* * *

**End Chapter**


	13. 2nd Saturday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Saturday**

Seto was not a happy camper, both literally and figuratively speaking. He was in some unknown region of the world where even the wildlife would be hesitant to venture. There were thick trees everywhere and it was so dense that it seemed like nightfall. And—although he was never one to let his imagination run rampant—he couldn't help but imagine a serial killer lurking in the woods.

"Look, are ya gonna help with the tents or are ya just gonna stand there and glare at moss all day?" Joey quipped, losing his patience. What he had thought was going to be a fun family adventure was turning into some hellhole of a vacation.

"I'm coming," the brunet grumbled as he wandered over to the…tent thing. He had to help set up two of these deathtraps? "Why can't Serenity and Mokuba set up their own tent?"

"Because _they _are gatherin' firewood with Yugi and Yami. Tea's keepin' the kids occupied so we can set up the tents. Can ya at least _pretend_ like you're havin' fun? Jaden and Blair will think you're mad or somethin'."

"I don't like camping," said Seto, as if that would alleviate him of all responsibility of his actions.

"Have you ever _been_ campin'?"

"No."

"Then how do ya know ya don't like it?"

"Because."

"Because why—augh! Ya got me to argue with ya like a child! Either ya help me set up these tents, or I'm doin' it myself!" the blond exclaimed.

Seto raised an eyebrow. "I fail to see the threat in that statement."

"If I have to set up the tents myself, then _someone _is gonna be sleepin' under the stars instead of with _me_. Get the idea?"

The brunet got to the tents before you could say 'Duel Monsters.'

* * *

"Papa! Papa! Look what we found!" Jaden cried.

Seto looked up from where he was sitting, which just so happened to be inside the tent. Rising to his feet, he walked over to his hyperactive spawns and crouched before them. "What did you find?" He just _knew _he was going to regret asking this question.

"Uh oh."

The brunet did _not _like how that sounded. It wasn't the 'oops, I did something wrong' uh oh, or even the 'maybe I shouldn't have done that' uh oh. It was the 'I just might have set off something that will trigger the end of the world' uh oh. Trying to stay calm, Seto put on a forced smile and looked at Jaden. "Why'd you say that?"

"I lost it," Jaden replied simply. "I think it crawled away."

Seto rose to his feet and froze. He did _not _know what Jaden was talking about and he didn't _want _to know what Jaden was talking about.

"There it is! It's on Papa's shoe!" Blair exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Bracing himself for the worst, the brunet looked down at his shoe and saw…a little lizard. That was it? A stupid little lizard? He was about to freak out over nothing?

Well…at least until the lizard crawled up his pants leg.

The CEO screamed bloody murder and started running and kicking throughout the campsite, drawing the attention of everyone.

"Papa dances funny," Blair giggled. But no one seemed to hear her. They were too distracted by what the brunet was doing next. He tore off his shoes and eagerly did away with his pants.

"What the hell are ya doin'?" Joey shrieked as he freaked out over his lover's wild behavior.

"A fucking lizard crawled up my fucking pants and I can't find it!" he screeched. Seto was about to take…_more _of his clothing off, but Joey stopped him.

"Wait! Wait! I see it! Hold still!" the blond ordered. His lover froze once more. Reaching out, he plucked the lizard off the hem of the brunet's boxers and chucked it as hard as he could back into the woods. "There. It's gone. Ya okay?"

"Peachy," Seto breathed, now becoming aware of being stared at. "Why are you all gawking at me?"

"You have nicer legs than I give you credit for," Bakura stated indifferently.

The brunet paled as he looked down. Then he blushed. He'd just nearly stripped himself naked…in front of everyone…because of some damned lizard! He _hated _camping!

* * *

Seto collapsed next to the fire. He thanked whatever was out there that it was finally nightfall. He didn't know how much more of this whole camping thing he could handle. But on second thought, there was tomorrow also. Fuck.

"Papa! Papa! Look what we found!"

_Oh, God. Not again_, the brunet groaned inside his head. He didn't know how much more of Jaden's findings he could handle.

"Don't poke it!" Blair whined.

"Why not? It's dead," said Jaden.

Dead? Jaden was poking something _dead_ now? Seto got to his feet…_again_…and trudged over to where his treasure-finding son was poking something. A giant, rat-looking something to be exact. And it looked very much dead.

"What did he find this time?" asked Joey as he wandered over to them.

"Stop poking it," Seto muttered, his eyes panning over the creature. "I think it's a dead possum. I'll take it away from the camp." He cringed as he reached down and grabbed the animal by the tail, lifting it up off the ground.

The blond suddenly grabbed Jaden and Blair and pulled them away. "Um, Seto? I don't think that thing is dead."

"What do you mean? Of course it's—" The creature in his hand twitched. Glancing back at the possum, he saw that it was very much alive. It had only been playing dead. So he did what another other man would do in his position. He screamed like a little schoolgirl, alerting everyone in the camp, and he threw it as hard as he could _into _the camp.

When someone discovers that something they thought was dead was actually alive, the last thing that person was thinking about was aiming. So that's why it headed straight for Bakura.

"Shit!" the former thief hissed, ducking just in time to let it pass.

Instead of hitting him, it ended up colliding with a wide-eyed Yami. The possum hit him hard in the head and clung onto his hair for dear life.

"Get it off! GET IT OFF!" the former pharaoh cried, zooming around the camp like a crazed lunatic.

"I got it!" Bakura yelled, chasing after Yami with a large piece of firewood. "Would you stop running so I can get it? Stupid, fucking—aha!" He swung at the possum with his makeshift weapon, the wood colliding with…Yami's head. "Oops…at least the possum's gone."

And it was. As soon as the former pharaoh hit the ground, the creature scurried back into the woods.

Yugi sighed, staring at his unconscious lover. "Can someone help me get him into our tent?"

* * *

"Peace at last," Seto moaned as he collapsed inside the tent. He was even too tired to get into his sleeping bag. And to top it off, he was _only _sharing the tent with his Puppy. Serenity, Mokuba, Jaden, and Blair had all passed out from exhaustion inside the other tent. This was pure bliss.

"I'm proud of ya, Seto," said Joey as he curled up next to him.

"For what?"

"For tryin' to make the best of things…even if they didn't go so well."

"That possum hitting Yami in the head sure made up for it, though," the brunet grumbled. At least he wasn't the only one who'd had to face off against the wild. Camping was brutal.

Joey chuckled and started kissing Seto along the neck, nipping every so often. "Just wait until tomorrow."

"Why? What's happening tomorrow?" The brunet's breath hitched with every nip and suck his Puppy made.

"We're goin' on a little hike around the camp. There's a river nearby that we'll picnic at. The water is very shallow and there's hardly any current, so the kids can play in the water and explore. It'll be nice."

"I hope it'll be better than today was," replied Seto as he placed his arm around Joey and drew him closer to his body.

"It will be," the blond said with a smile. "But I can always _make _it better if it's not."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Puppy."

"Why not?"

"Because…these tents are far from soundproof."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	14. 2nd Sunday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Sunday**

Although the hike to the river had been brief, it felt like it had lasted hours due to Jaden and Blair. They hadn't even been halfway there before the two small children had started complaining, which meant someone had to come to the rescue. And who might that have been?

Bakura and Marik, of course. Jaden had taken to liking Uncle Marik's company, while Blair liked her 'Uncle Kuwa.' The two uncles had carried them the rest of the way to the river.

"This place is amazin'," Joey whispered under his breath, taking in the landscape. The riverbank was fairly large, flat, and strewn with hardly any rocks. And the river was no more than six inches deep, but it got deeper and had a much stronger current further upstream. Furthermore, the water was crystal clear, making it easy to distinguish the river rocks resting beneath its surface. It was fairly quiet and peaceful indeed.

"Can we play in the water?" asked Jaden immediately upon arrival.

"Yeah," replied Joey. "But ya need to take your shoes and socks off first and roll up your pants legs. Okay?"

"Okay," said the small boy as he eagerly started to remove his shoes.

"You want to come fishing with us?" Bakura inquired, poking Seto's shoulder as he did so.

The brunet stared at him blankly. "Fishing?"

"Me, Marik, Tristan, and the idiot pharaoh are gonna head upstream where the water's deeper and go fishing."

"I am not an idiot!" Yami snapped.

Bakura rounded on him. "You thought the fishing bait were snacks!"

While Yami mumbled profanities in Egyptian, Seto contemplated on whether or not he should go. He…kind of wanted to go. It would be like being out with the guys or something. But would Joey be all right with it?

"Hey, Pup? The guys are asking me to go fishing with them," stated the brunet.

Joey looked to him, finally finished with preparing Jaden and Blair for river exploration. "Okay. Are ya goin'?"

"You mean I can?"

"Why wouldn't ya be able to?" the blond countered.

"I thought that…never mind." He paused and stared at Joey for a full minute. "I really _do _want to go."

"Then go," Joey chuckled. "I'm not stoppin' ya. Relax and have fun. Ya need it more than anyone."

"Thank you, Puppy," he said quickly, giving the blond a quick kiss on the cheek before scampering off.

"Where's Papa going?" asked Jaden.

"He's goin' fishin'."

"Oh. Catch us lots of fish, Papa!" the small boy yelled at the top of his lungs.

* * *

Seto couldn't believe he was doing this. He'd _never_ done anything like fishing before, but after a careful explanation from Bakura, he found that he was getting the hang of it. He felt quite proud of himself.

Especially since Yami was so bad at it. The former pharaoh had gotten his line tangled in the nearby trees at least three times, twisted it around himself once, and had literally caught Marik with the hook about…five times. Needless to say, Yami was ultimately banned from fishing and had been cast away underneath a tree where he sat mumbling about being banished.

On a more positive note, Seto found that he was relaxing. The tension in his muscles seemed to lessen and just fade away…

"What the—?" The brunet jumped when his line started to buzz out of control. Bakura dropped his rod and raced over as soon as he noticed Seto had caught something.

"Don't let it get away!" he shouted. "Bring it in!"

Seto struggled desperately with the fish. What the hell was it, a whale? The ripples it was making made it seem like he'd hooked the Loch Ness Monster or something. Eventually, it started fighting less, so he started reeling it in.

"This thing's gonna be big. I can feel it," stated Tristan enthusiastically.

The brunet couldn't help but smirk. He should have known he'd be good at fishing. Why wouldn't he be—

"No one says a word about this," Seto deadpanned. The others fled the scene.

* * *

A few hours later, the rest of them—other than Yami, since he'd been banned—caught a few fish, while Seto just had his small, three-inch fish. It was considerably smaller than everyone else's…and it was the only one he'd caught, too.

In addition to that, he felt extremely disappointed. How was he going to handle going back to Joey and their kids with this little thing? Jaden and Blair were probably expecting some massive fish or at least a lot of them. It might have been better if he hadn't caught anything at all.

"Here," said Marik, thrusting a fish of considerable size in front of his face. "Take it."

"Why?"

"Are you really gonna make me say it?" When Seto just gave him a blank look, he sighed in aggravation. "You think they're not gonna be proud of you. So just take mine."

Seto was at a loss for words. Marik…was being nice to him. And he was acting as if he cared. But the brunet just couldn't do it. "I'm not taking your fish."

"What? Why not? There's nothing wrong with it," he argued.

"That's not it. I can't…I can't lie to them. I don't want them idolizing me as a hero when I know I'm not." With that said, Seto left, his tiny fish in tow.

* * *

"Papa's back!" Blair cried.

"Did you catch a fish?" Jaden exclaimed, racing over to the potentially startled brunet.

Seto looked down at the two expectant children in embarrassment. Should he really show them the fish he'd caught?

"Were ya able to catch anythin'?" Joey wanted to see, too?

"Um…yeah, but—"

"Cool!" cried Jaden, finding the fish Seto had tried to keep out of sight. "Look, Blair!"

"Papa caught a fishy!" the young girl giggled cheerfully.

"Did you see it, Daddy?"

"Of course," Joey said in answer to Jaden. "Are ya two proud of Papa?"

The two children nodded as they grabbed the fish and took off. Seto stared after them blankly. What had just happened?

"I'm proud of ya, too," Joey stated, wrapping his arms around the brunet.

"But I didn't catch anything big."

"That's not the point. Ya went out there and did your best. It wouldn't matter if ya came back with somethin' the size of a boat or a twig. The three of us will praise your accomplishments no matter what," he said, kissing him. "And besides…the thought of ya fishin' is really, _really _sexy."

"Don't do that," replied Seto, trying to calm his raging hormones. "I told you just yesterday that these tents are far from soundproof."

"What if I promise to be quiet?" Joey whispered in his ear.

Nighttime couldn't get there fast enough.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	15. 3rd Monday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Monday**

Seto and Joey felt like the living dead when they stepped into the Kaiba Mansion the next day. They were dirty, tired, hungry, and the kids were pretty much the same. The two young parents were grateful that it was late evening by the time they got home; otherwise they didn't think they could make it.

"Bath, food, bed," Joey stated firmly, glancing at Seto to see if he agreed. He did.

Serenity and Mokuba immediately ran upstairs to do just as the blond had said, leaving Jaden and Blair staring after them. Seto picked up Jaden while Joey did the same with Blair, taking them upstairs and into the bathroom.

About an hour later, all four kids were clean, fed, and in bed, fast asleep. Seto collapsed on their own bed, feeling utterly drained. Camping took a lot out of you.

While the brunet stared up at the ceiling, Joey took the opportunity to go into the bathroom where he eagerly got ready to take a hot shower. He discarded his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. As he stepped over to the shower, the blond suddenly felt the towel ripped from his body. He gasped and spun around.

"Seto!" he protested as he tried to get the towel back.

The brunet dropped it to the floor and grabbed Joey around the waist and pulled him up against him. "What's the matter, Puppy?" he asked, his hand trailing down to the blond's limp member, preparing to pump it slowly.

"Mn…n-not now. I'm all sweaty and dirty from campin'," Joey whined, eventually succumbing to Seto's quick movements.

"I don't mind," replied the brunet, amused by his Puppy's behavior. He bent his head down and started licking a spot on Joey's neck.

"What are ya—ah—doin?"

Seto smirked against his soft skin. "I'm going to show everyone that you belong to me," he replied before latching his mouth to Joey's neck, getting started on a prominent hickey.

The blond instantly froze, but Seto didn't seem to notice. That had been said to him before. This had been done to him before. A sickening feeling soon hit his stomach when he remembered, but it was too late to do anything. He already came all over Seto's hand. When the brunet finally moved away, Joey pushed him away just a little bit further.

"Puppy?" Seto asked in confusion.

"I'm really worn out, so…do ya mind if I just take a shower on my own?" The blond had to keep up the appearance that nothing was bothering him. But would it work?

"Okay," replied the brunet. "I suppose we wouldn't get much showering done if we took it together." Seto made to kiss Joey on the lips, but the blond turned his head, making his lips come in contact with his cheek instead. "I'll…just be going then."

Joey watched him go, much to his relief. He quickly stepped into the shower, turning on the hot water full blast to burn away the memory that had crept into his mind. However, it just wouldn't go away.

Hirutani had done the same exact thing Seto had just done…in an eerily similar way, too, when the gang leader had decided to show him off. Sure, what the brunet had said was a little bit different, but all-in-all, it had been the same action. But this was Seto! He was _nothing _like Hirutani, so why did it bother him?

Suddenly, another thought struck him. He'd never told Seto about Hirutani. The brunet knew _nothing _about that part of his life. His mood darkened considerably. Should he tell him?

* * *

Seto stared at the floor, trying to figure out what exactly he'd done wrong this time. First he'd been pleasuring his Puppy and then the blond had wanted nothing to do with him. And it couldn't have been the pleasuring part…because it wasn't like Joey had been complaining. So what was it?

"The shower's free," Joey announced as he stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He avoided eye contact with the brunet and made his way over to the dresser to search for some clothes.

Rising from the bed, Seto gave the blond a small, concerned glance before retreating into the bathroom. He'd clean himself up and then talk to him.

Joey pulled out a pair of boxers and a set of pajamas. Slipping into the clothing, he wandered over to the bed, pulled down the covers, lay down, and buried himself underneath the blankets. He hoped that Seto would just let him be for the night. He wasn't up to talking about that part of his past just yet. But would Seto be angry with him for keeping it from him for so long?

A few minutes later, Seto returned. He eyed the curled up mass beneath the blankets and fetched some clothes. Omitting the shirt from his sleepwear, he slipped into bed next to the blond and wrapped his arm around him as gently as he could. "Are you all right?"

A nod.

"Just tired?"

Another nod.

Sighing in defeat, Seto made himself a bit more comfortable next to him. They might as well sleep. He wasn't going to get anywhere with his Puppy tonight. Just what was bothering him?

* * *

**_Dream (Joey's POV)_**

"_You look as beautiful as ever, Jo-Jo," said Hirutani as he cupped my cheek. I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed hard. "What's the matter, Jo-Jo?"_

_I hate it when he call me that! Why does he have to call me that? I jumped when he started pulling at my clothes, quickly doing away with them. He pushed me onto his bed and crawled over me, planting kisses on my face and neck. I squirmed underneath him, but he was too strong._

_Straddling my waist, he took off his shirt and tossed it to the floor before he completely rose back to his feet and removed the rest of his clothing. I took the opportunity to bolt from the bed, but he caught me around my waist and pulled me back._

"_You're not going anywhere, Joey," Hirutani growled. He yanked down the blankets on his bed, threw me onto it, and covered my body with his own, but he made sure to have my head resting on his pillow. Tears stung my eyes; crying would only make things worse._

_He thrust my legs apart and pressed himself firmly against me; he didn't penetrate me, but it was just as bad as if he had. "Wrap your legs around me." I didn't move. "Wrap your legs around me!" he snapped, slapping me in the face for good measure._

_I did as he demanded, although reluctantly. Gasping softly, I wrapped my legs around his waist. Hirutani ground his hips into mine in response. I bit back a whimper as he did so._

"_That wasn't so hard, was it Jo-Jo?" he whispered, trailing kisses across my jaw line._

_I hate this! I hate him! But I can't do anything about it! He has too much power over me! It was too much! I want to scream for all I'm worth!_

**_End Dream_**

* * *

Joey shot up from the bed screaming, tears pouring from his eyes as he struggled to get his breathing under control.

"Puppy? Puppy, what's wrong?" Seto asked hurriedly, cupping the blond's face in his hands as he tried to calm him. When Joey started fighting him, he panicked. "Joey, it's me. It's Seto. It's all right. You're safe. You're _safe_."

Gradually, the blond started to calm down, but sobs still wracked his trembling body. He then held onto Seto as if his life depended on it.

The brunet pulled Joey into his arms, embracing him securely as he rocked him back and forth in a means to soothe him. Running a hand through the blond's hair, he whispered soothing words in his ear. Finally deeming his Puppy capable of speaking, he turned Joey's face toward him. "Did you have a nightmare?"

He nodded and let out a shaky breath. "Don't leave. Please."

"I'm not going anywhere, Puppy," replied Seto, kissing the blond on the forehead. "Just relax. I'm here."

Joey's breathing finally evened out, but going back to sleep was the furthest thing from his mind. What he wanted to know was why Hirutani was suddenly infiltrating his thoughts and flooding his mind with memories better left buried. But he knew an answer was impossible. So he just sat in Seto's arms, taking in all the comfort the brunet could offer. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	16. 3rd Tuesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Tuesday**

The Domino City Carnival should have been fun. It should have been a great time for family and friends. They should have been having the time of their lives. And most of them were…except for Seto and Joey. _Especially _Joey. Seto sighed and leaned back against the side of a game booth, watching as his lover fretted over Jaden and Blair, who were covered in cotton candy.

Last night had been something new; that was for sure. Joey hadn't slept at all after that nightmare, which he still knew nothing about. And this morning, the blond hadn't said a word to him. It was as if he was on autopilot or something. His movements had been mechanical and his responses monotonous. It was extremely unnerving. But what really bugged him was that he didn't know what to do!

"What's got you thinking so seriously in a place like this?" asked Bakura, who was back from winning at darts. He held a dripping funnel cake in his hand.

Seto shook his head, at a loss for what to say.

"Hey, what's up with Joey?" Tristan inquired as he wandered over to them. "He's being…quiet. I thought he'd be all over this place."

Sighing, the brunet stared up at the sky. "He won't tell me. Last night he got…distant. And then, after we went to bed, he had a nightmare. A really bad one from what I can gather. He woke up screaming and wouldn't go back to sleep. I stayed up with him all night, but he wouldn't tell me anything about it. And this morning he's been…out of it."

Tristan glanced over at Joey, thinking to himself before making his way toward him. Seto and Bakura watched him go in silence. A few minutes later, it looked like the two of them were having an argument. And soon enough, Joey bolted.

"What the hell?" Bakura muttered as he and Seto walked over to where Jaden and Blair had been left behind.

"What happened?" Seto questioned Tristan authoritatively as he tried to catch sight of his Puppy.

"I know what it is that's got him so worked up," stated Tristan quietly, a grim expression on his face. "But Joey has to be the one to tell you. Not me."

"You had better at least give me a fucking hint," snapped the brunet.

"You…do know that Joey was once in a gang, right?" Seto nodded, urging him to continue. "I joined the gang he was in…to help him get out of it. If I hadn't come along, I don't know what would have happened to him."

"So…he's having nightmares about what happened while he was in a gang?"

"Sort of."

"Well, give me _something _to work with!"

"It's not so much as what happened while being _in_ the gang. It has to do more with someone else that was in it. And that's all I'm able to tell you," Tristan replied reluctantly. He really wished he could tell the brunet about Hirutani and all that had happened between the gang leader and Joey, but he just couldn't tell that story.

"Jaden's missing," Bakura said suddenly.

"What?" Seto felt his heart slam into his chest.

* * *

Joey couldn't believe it. How _dare _Tristan confront him like that! It wasn't any of his business! Why did everyone have to butt in when he wanted to be left alone? And why couldn't he ever catch a fucking break? Whenever he overcame an obstacle, a new one came and took its place. Would he ever be able to live in peace?

"Jo-Jo?" a voice gasped in surprise.

The blond froze. No. It couldn't be. Joey turned in the direction the voice had come from, and sure enough, there stood Hirutani in all his glory near a storage building for the carnival.

"Hirutani." It came out as a dead whisper. "What are ya doin' here?"

"I'm working here…doing maintenance," he replied, his eyes taking in everything critically. "You look different."

Swallowing convulsively, Joey subconsciously took a step back. "I never saw ya as the type to get a job."

"It seems we both surprised each other," said Hirutani, stepping closer to him. "You here alone?"

Joey was saved from answering when someone called him, but it was the last person he wanted to find him.

"Daddy!" cried Jaden as he ran over to the startled blond. "I found you! Why'd you go away?"

"You have a son?" Hirutani inquired, looking quite surprised.

"You're gonna make Papa worry," continued the small boy, tugging on Joey's sleeve.

The blond planned to grab Jaden and run, but just as he made to move, Hirutani caught him around the wrist. "Go back to Papa, okay?" Joey begged as he twisted his captive arm. "Go back!"

Jaden saw the fearful look in his Daddy's eyes and ran back to his Papa as fast as he could.

After he left, Hirutani yanked Joey toward him. "You have a son _and _a lover? I could have given you the same damn thing. All you had to do was ask."

"Ya forget that I never wanted ya," the blond spat. "Now let me go!"

"I don't think so," replied the former gang leader as he dragged Joey into the storage building and slammed the door shut. He pushed Joey against the wall, his back facing him as he pressed their bodies closer together, pinning his hands to his sides. "I thought I was over you, but I guess not, huh?"

"Hirutani, please let me go," Joey gasped, terrified by what the man might do.

"I gave you time, space, and I never forced you to have sex with me, no matter how bad I wanted it," Hirutani hissed in his ear. "I thought I was being patient. I thought that, in time, you'd give yourself to me willingly. But that time never came, did it? Did it?" he exclaimed.

"No."

"Then you left. And I got over you. Next thing I know, I find out you gave yourself to someone and you guys have a kid." Hirutani slammed Joey into the wall again. "I should have broken you back then. I should have taken you and permanently made you mine. I should have been selfish. What do you say I take what should have been mine a long time ago?"

* * *

"Papa!" Jaden screamed as he ran. He needed to find him. His Daddy was in trouble.

"Jaden!" Seto exclaimed, pulling the small boy into his arms. "Don't you ever run off like that again!"

"A bad man's got Daddy," he said as he struggled to get back down. "I think he was hurting him."

"Tristan, stay with Blair. Bakura, come with me," declared the brunet. "Where are they?"

"This way!" Jaden cried, running off as soon as his feet hit the ground. Seto and Bakura raced after him. When they reached a storage building, they paused. "They _were_ here!"

"Stop!" That voice was Joey's! And it was coming from inside.

"Take Jaden," said Seto as he marched up to the door. He threw it open, only to see someone fiddling with his Puppy's pants. "Get your hands off him!" he roared, charging into the building.

The man ceased what he was doing and took off toward the door on the other side of the building. A few seconds later, he was gone. But he'd definitely gotten a good look at the one who'd come to the blond's rescue.

Joey slid down until his knees touched the ground. He planted his palms against the wall while also resting his forehead there. Seto kneeled beside him, placing a gentle hand on his back. "Are you all right, Puppy? Did he do anything?"

"He didn't do anythin'," the blond rasped, his tears threatening to fall.

Seto didn't want to ask these questions, but knew he had to. "Did you get a good look at that man? Would you be able to—"

"I know who he is," Joey started, interrupting him.

His Puppy knew who his attacker was? "Who was it?"

Taking a deep breath, the blond prepared himself for the onslaught of questions that were sure to follow. "Hirutani."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	17. 3rd Wednesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Wednesday**

"He's still up there then?" Yugi asked, staring up at Seto hesitantly. Everyone was at Kaiba Mansion. After the events of yesterday—and the quick description of what had happened—they all thought it best to stick around to support Joey. Nearly everyone had burst into conversation about what might be going on. All except for Tristan, that is. And Seto was quite aware of that. He knew something and he sure as hell wasn't going to let it go this time.

"Who the fuck is Hirutani?" the brunet ground out, ultimately silencing everyone present.

Tristan looked surprised for a moment, but then the pieces started coming together. "That's the person who attacked Joey yesterday?"

"That's what he said," Seto verified. "Now, are you going to enlighten me?"

"I don't know all the details," started Tristan as he gave in to the request, "but I can tell you what I _do _know. I met Hirutani during middle school. He'd been held back a couple times, so he was much older than everyone else. By that time, Joey was already a part of his gang; his second-in-command. Joey might not look like much, but he can definitely fight. The last few months before we graduated from middle school, I joined to keep an eye on Joey. I knew he was good at heart and I wanted to see if I could get that side of him to come out. That's why I joined. I knew he was unhappy—though he tried to hide it—and I felt I could help him.

"Hirutani's gang was also known for picking fights, but they always targeted weaker individuals. Once we graduated, we split. Joey and I went to Domino High while Hirutani and the others went to Rintama. Let's just say Hirutani wasn't too happy to let Joey go. He tried a few times to get him back…but Joey refused each time. And each time, Joey was nearly killed. The last time Hirutani and Joey met up, it wasn't pretty. However, Joey _did _win that day. But ever since then…it seemed like Joey had changed. I don't know if it was his home life that had broken his spirit or if he'd just given up. Something made him terrified of Hirutani. And he hasn't been the same. Because, to be honest, I'm surprised Joey didn't kick his ass yesterday."

Everyone thought over what Tristan had just said. To an outsider, it might not have made sense, but to Seto, it did. Joey had said something once before about forgetting things he didn't want to remember. Had he somehow gotten those memories back? Was that why he'd been acting that way?

Well, he wasn't going to get any answers from just standing here. Spinning on his heel, the brunet made his way up the stairs, prepared to get _all _the answers he wanted.

* * *

Joey glared at the wall. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why was he being so weak and needy? He was stronger than this! He'd taken on whole gangs by himself, winning with barely a scratch on him! And now he couldn't even face the man he'd beaten nearly two years ago?

Lowering his eyes, he clenched his fists. Had the memories that had resurfaced caused that much damage to his mind? Was that why he'd frozen as soon as Hirutani had approached him? He could have easily fought with him and won, but fighting back hadn't even crossed his mind. And speaking of which, when was the last time he'd actually fought?

Ever since meeting Yugi and the others, he'd changed his ways and didn't resort to violence as quickly as he had before. Sure, he could still have a temper, but he wouldn't get into a physical altercation unless absolutely provoked. And that had even been before those memories had returned.

Rising to his feet, the blond trudged over to the wall that supported the painting he'd made with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Red-Eyes was fierce and strong, yet loving and kind. _That _was the person he was _supposed _to be, not some little sissy shit that quaked before anyone who decided to destroy his peace of mind! He was Joey Wheeler. There was a time when the sound of his name struck fear into the minds of gang members throughout all of Japan. But where was he? That person was still buried within him, right? What did he have to do to bring him back out?

He _knew _Hirutani had gotten a good look at Seto yesterday, and the former gang leader also knew that he had a son. It would only be a matter of time before Hirutani made his move. And Joey wasn't about to let that happen. Fury suddenly consumed him. If Hirutani even touched a single _hair _on the heads of any member of his family, he would pay dearly.

In his rage, the blond swung his fist at the wall, his hand punching a hole through it. Blood started trickling down his hand just as Seto opened the door.

"You're not leaving here until I—" The brunet paused when he saw Joey. "What the hell? Puppy, are you okay?" he asked as he rushed over to the blond's side.

"I'm fine," he said, removing his hand from the wall, pieces of plaster fluttering to the ground. "I need to find Hirutani."

"No. You need to tell me what the fuck he did that's got you so worked up," snapped Seto as he dragged Joey into the bathroom to tend to his hand.

The blond sighed. "Are ya sure ya wanna to know? I didn't remember everythin' when we first got together. And after what happened in the other world…my memories came back. All of them. It's not a pretty story, Seto. And I'm not sure how you'll feel about me afterward."

"There's _nothing_ you could say that would make me stop loving you. But if it's something you want to keep secret form everyone else, that's fine with me," the brunet replied sincerely.

"Let's just hope ya keep your word," said Joey, walking back into their bedroom after his hand had been bandaged.

They sat down on the bed, Seto eagerly waiting for him to begin.

"He fell in love with me," the blond said suddenly.

"Who? Hirutani?"

Joey nodded. "I met him when I was twelve. He and his gang caught me and my cousin Jenna when we were on our way home from school. A bunch of the guys grabbed her and forced her onto the ground. Hirutani said that if I joined his gang, he'd let her go. I agreed. But then…they started raping her. And they killed her. Then Hirutani let her go. By that time, I knew I was trapped. I had nothin' left and he knew it."

"I'm sorry," said Seto. He didn't know what else to say. What else _could _he say to a story like that? But Joey was far from done.

"A few months later, Hirutani started takin' a different interest in me. When I was thirteen, he let me know it. He never let me leave his side. And at night he'd…he'd take me to his room in the old warehouse we used as a base. Hirutani always made me strip down…and he'd do it, too. Then…"

Seto swallowed hard, preparing himself for the worst. "Then what?"

"He'd take me to his bed…and pin me there. I-I had to…wrap my legs around his waist s-so he could grind into me. And he'd kiss me and touch me everywhere until either he fell asleep or I passed out. He did that every night for about a year."

"Did Hirutani…ever…rape you?" Seto hoped that Joey would say no, because he couldn't bear the thought of that happening to his Puppy.

"He didn't. Hirutani said he was waitin' for me to go to him willin'ly. But I could never do that. Especially after what he did before the end of middle school," he gasped out.

"What did he do?"

"Hirutani decided to show me off to the other gang leaders in the area. According to him, I was the reason so many fights broke out between the gangs; they all wanted me for themselves. So Hirutani wanted to put an end to it and show everyone that I belonged to him and only him. He made me…stand naked in from of them all. And then he tried to pleasure me and mark me in front of them. I couldn't believe it was happenin'. That moment destroyed me. It felt as if my heart had actually died."

Tears fell once again from his eyes. Would he ever stop crying? And now…what would Seto think? How would he feel about him now that he knew _this _truth about him?

Seto cupped Joey's face in his hands and stared into the pain-filled amber eyes. He didn't deserve any of the treatment he'd received by _anyone _who'd ended up hurting him. No. Joey deserved to be loved and cherished. Leaning forward, the brunet pressed their lips together, kissing him in a way that reminded the blond he _was _loved.

"I love you," whispered Seto as he pulled away. "And we're going to get this bastard who did this to you."

"Hirutani's not a guy ya wanna to mess with. He's dangerous…even to ya. If we're gonna get him, ya need to do as I tell ya. And we need to keep everyone here for their own safety until we can get him. He saw Jaden…and he saw ya. There's no tellin' what he might do—or when—since he'll do whatever he can to hurt me and take me back."

"Puppy, I have the proper security to apprehend him."

"I know yado, but Hirutani's smarter than anyone gives him credit for. If he was easy to catch, he'd have been put away years ago. I know him better than anyone. I can lure him out."

"I don't like this," Seto replied. He really didn't want Joey to be put in anymore danger.

"I need ya to trust me, Seto. I know what I'm doin'," he assured him.

The brunet stared at him for a time, mulling things over in his mind. "Fine. But I still don't like it."

"Ya don't have to like it. It just needs to work," said Joey as he snuggled up against him. "And Seto? I really love ya, too."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	18. 3rd Thursday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 18 – Thursday**

Joey shut his cell phone. The trap had been set. He knew it had been a good idea to keep in touch with a few people from his earlier years. And now that he'd set the bait, all he had to do was wait for Hirutani to show up…at the right place…at the right time.

Leaving the bedroom, the blond went downstairs, thoughts swirling in his mind. Jaden and Blair had been taken to the Game Shop along with Mokuba and Serenity. Security had been placed there as well until this situation blew over, which Joey was determined to make happen today.

But…everyone else had decided to stay and help. The blond wasn't too sure how he felt about that. He needed to do this on his own. Risking the lives of his lover or his friends was not something he could live with. And he had to deter them from helping him at any cost.

Just as the blond reached the front door, a hand shot out and stopped him. Turning around, Joey came face to face with Seto. Closing his eyes, he prayed that the brunet would listen to him.

"Where are you going?" Seto demanded, not loosening his grip. The others started forming a semi-circle around them.

"I have to go," Joey responded firmly.

"Not alone you're not," the brunet deadpanned. He wasn't letting the blond out of his sight.

"I thought ya said ya trusted me?"

"I _do _trust you. I just don't trust _him_."

Joey knew very well whom Seto implied. But he couldn't let any of them get involved with Hirutani.

"You can't go alone, Joey," said Tristan, walking up to his friend. "It's too risky. For both your sakes."

"He's not gonna kill me, Tristan," the blond murmured.

"What _he'll _do is not what I'm worried about," his friend replied. They stared at each other, not breaking eye contact.

"I don't need someone to come along to keep me in check," growled Joey. "So just back off."

He broke free of Seto's grasp and made to leave, but Tristan grabbed him this time instead. The blond turned, bringing his elbow up and under his friend's chest, hitting him squarely in the gut. Tristan dropped to the ground, wheezing.

But Joey wasn't finished yet. He grabbed Tristan by his collar and heaved him to his feet. "Don't forget who I am," he said before dropping him back onto the ground. And with that, the blond left, leaving everyone staring after him in confusion.

They became even more perplexed when Tristan started chuckling as he brought himself to his feet.

"What the fuck is so funny? He just beat your ass and left," Bakura balked.

"It looks to me like the old Joey's back," replied Tristan. "You don't have to worry about him. He'll be fine."

Seto wasn't too sure about that. So he did what any other concerned lover would do. He pulled out his cell phone, told his security to tail Joey, and left to go find him. Wouldn't anyone do that?

* * *

Joey paused and took in his surroundings. Why did all showdowns have to take place near the docks? Oh, well. It wasn't very populated—which was a good thing in case something went down—and there were many places to hide in case things got bad.

"I see you showed up," announced Hirutani, stepping out of the shadows. "You alone?"

"Of course. You?"

"What do you think?"

Hirutani was alone then. He never _did _like anyone else to do his dirty work.

"This stops now," Joey ground out. "I want ya to leave my family and friends alone…otherwise you'll pay _dearly_ for it."

The former gang leader chuckled and came even closer. "And I get _you _to ensure the safety of your precious loved ones, right?"

"Wrong."

Hirutani's expression faltered. His eyes narrowed at the blond. "That wasn't the deal."

"Ya forget. We never made a deal. Now, either ya leave my family and friends alone, or I'll take ya out."

"It seems you haven't lost that feisty attitude of yours. Too bad I'm gonna have to break it," stated Hirutani, his anger flaring.

"I don't think so."

Both Hirutani and Joey spun around at the sound of the new voice that had permeated their midst.

"Seto," the blond gasped, taking in the sight of his lover with wide eyes. "What are ya doin' here?"

"Oh, isn't that just sweet. The boyfriend decided to come and save the day," Hirutani taunted mockingly, his face showing obvious interest in the way things had turned. "Too bad you won't be able to save yourself."

Before Seto even knew what was happening, he suddenly found himself sprawled out on the ground, vicious punches hitting every part of his body that was exposed. Thinking quickly, he blocked his head with his arms, brought back his leg and kicked Hirutani in the knee. Stumbling backward, Seto took the opportunity to scramble to his feet.

But Hirutani was too fast for him. What the fuck was this guy on?

"Seto! Look out!"

The brunet didn't have time to react. The former gang leader had drawn a knife and lunged at him, taking the butt end of the blade and slamming it into the side of Seto's head. The brunet collapsed on the ground, stunned. His vision was blurry and he could feel blood trickling down the side of his head.

"I could have stabbed you…and cut up that pretty little face of yours, but I want you to watch me…as I destroy the one you took from me," Hirutani cried, turning his attention to Joey.

The blond kept his eyes glued to the knife. There was no telling what the man might do next. Sure, Hirutani was fast, but Joey knew he was faster.

Seto watched in utter amazement as the blond glared almost cruelly at Hirutani. He'd never seen an expression like that on his Puppy before. So what was he doing lying on the damn ground for? He needed to help him! Protect him! But the blow to his head had rendered him partially immobile.

"Wanna play, Jo-Jo?" cackled Hirutani.

"You're gonna pay _dearly _for that. No one lays a hand on my Dragon and gets away with it!" Joey screamed as he charged Hirutani.

As soon as he reached him, the blond grabbed the former gang leader's wrist—the one holding the knife—and yanked it toward him. Straightening Hirutani's arm, Joey brought his other palm directly up toward the man's elbow. There was a sickening crunch and a shriek as Hirutani's arm bent in a way that was far from natural.

But Joey was also far from done.

He reeled back his hand, planting it squarely into the former gang leader's nose before throwing a few punches to his gut. However, the blond wasn't satisfied yet. Joey side kicked Hirutani's shin, severely severing the bone as a piercing scream echoed throughout the docks.

Joey watched as Hirutani—the source of most his pain—crumpled to the ground, bloodied and beaten. He wanted to continue. He wanted to squeeze out whatever life remained and leave an empty corpse in its place. But he couldn't. No. Wouldn't. He wouldn't bring himself to Hirutani's level. Never.

A commotion to his right brought Joey back to his senses. Seto's security had arrived to take over.

_Oh, God. Seto!_ Joey thought, rushing over to his lover. The brunet had lost a lot of blood from the wound to his head. "Someone call an ambulance!"

"Puppy?" It seemed as if Seto were fighting to stay conscious.

"I'm here, Seto. I'm here," Joey replied hurriedly, taking off his jacket and pressing it to the brunet's wound. He started to hear sirens in the distance.

The brunet tried to sit up, but Joey wouldn't let him. "What—"

"Ya need to stay still. You've lost a lot of blood. Can ya do that for me and stay still?"

"Yes. Mm." Seto closed his eyes briefly and reopened them, his vision still blurry. "You're amazing…you know that?"

"Not as amazin' as ya," said the blond, forcing himself to smile. The glazed look in Seto's eyes was concerning him. He leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. "I love ya, Seto."

The brunet smiled. "I love you, too. Uhh…I need to sit up. Too dizzy." His head was swimming…and his vision…was fading.

"Seto? Wake up! Seto!"

* * *

**End Chapter**


	19. 3rd Friday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Friday**

A hospital. Why did they always have to end up at the hospital? Joey paced the waiting room, hugging himself in an attempt to calm his nerves. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if Seto—

"Daddy!"

The blond became alert when his kids came racing toward him, his friends in tow. Kneeling down, he took the both of them in his arms and embraced them with all his might.

"Where's Papa? Is he okay?" Jaden asked, trying to loosen his Daddy's grip.

Joey fought the tears that stung his eyes. "Um, Papa got hurt. A…bully hit him really hard."

"Did ya save Papa from the bully?" inquired the young boy.

Nodding, he hoped that would suffice as a good enough answer for his children. And apparently, it worked. Relieved that they wouldn't be asking any more questions, Joey took the two small children over to a chair, which he sat in, drawing both of them into his lap.

"Now we just have to wait for the doctor to come back and tell us how Papa is doin'. Okay?"

"Okay," replied Blair, snuggling up against her Daddy, Jaden doing the same.

Wrapping his arms around them, Joey sighed, hoping that Seto—his lover…their Papa—would be all right.

* * *

"Mr. Wheeler?"

Joey focused his gaze on the doctor who'd arrived. It was Dr. Henry. Glancing over at Mokuba and Serenity, the two preteens took the sleeping Jaden and Blair from him so that he could speak with the man.

"How is he?" the blond asked, nervousness taking over.

"If he takes it easy, he should be fine. You should have seen him when he woke up. He nearly tore the place apart when we wouldn't let him see you yet. It took forever to coerce him back into bed," Dr. Henry chuckled amusedly.

"So he's okay," Joey stated in relief.

"Yes. And itching to see you. There is one thing, though. His vision is going to be a little off for awhile, so the lighting needs to stay dim. If he goes outside, he needs to wear sunglasses and at home, keep the lights off or have the blinds or curtains drawn. Expose him to light little by little. All right?"

"Sure. Can I see him now?"

"Of course." Dr. Henry led Joey down the hall and toward a secluded room. "I'll leave you to it then."

"Thank ya," replied the blond before stepping into the room, where he found Seto glaring at the opposite wall menacingly. He didn't look happy. "Seto?"

The brunet's head shot in the direction of Joey's voice. "Puppy?" He gasped when the blond pounced on him, kissing him almost desperately. "Puppy, it's okay. I'm fine."

"Ya were not fine," Joey choked out, smacking him in the leg. "So don't even pretend—"

Seto silenced him with another kiss, deepening it so that their tongues battled fiercely in a war the brunet won. "I'm fine now. You saw to that."

"I was so scared for ya, Seto. I didn't know what was gonna happen."

"Now do you realize what you've put me through? I love you too much to let anything happen to you. Even it means getting my ass kicked just to see you safe. And I really got my ass kicked," he grumbled. Where the fuck had his security been? He was going to fire them all!

"Stop lookin' like that," started Joey.

"Like what?"

"Like you're gonna go on a firin' spree. I already talked to your security and we straightened things out."

"How'd you—"

"I know ya better than ya think."

"What did you say to them then?" inquired the brunet curiously.

"I asked why they hadn't intervened sooner and…I got an answer I hadn't expected. Apparently, I scared the crap outta them when I took out Hirutani. They were so shocked by what I did that they didn't know how to react until it was over," Joey explained.

"What happened to Hirutani?"

"He's bein' treated for the injuries I inflicted and then bein' taken away…for a _very_ long time."

"Good," Seto sighed in relief, relaxing against the hospital bed. He grew silent for a minute before speaking again. "I've never seen you like that."

"Ya mean when I went after Hirutani?" Joey asked quietly. When Seto nodded, he started playing with the hospital blanket. "When I saw ya go down, somethin' in me just snapped. I wanted to make him hurt for everythin' that he'd done. My body just acted. And when he hit the ground, I came to my senses…and stopped. I never wanna go through that again."

"And you won't have to. I think you've handled every facet of your past. So unless there's something else you haven't told me, you don't have to worry about your past haunting you anymore."

"I guess you're right," the blond replied, cuddling next to Seto. "This means that when I take ya home, I get to take care of you. Dr. Henry said ya have to take it easy. Ya need to wear sunglasses when you're outside and everythin' needs to be dim at home until your vision gets back to normal."

Seto groaned.

"And that _also _means no workin'. You're forbidden from usin' your laptop until further notice," Joey continued.

"You can't do that!" the brunet protested.

"I can and I will. I'm takin' care of ya in the best way I see fit and that's final!"

Seto pouted in a grumbling manner before a mischievous smirk appeared on his face. "Since you'll be taking care of me, does that mean you'll be wearing a cute little nurse's outfit?"

"No!" Joey cried, appalled.

"And then you can give me sponge baths. Wouldn't that be part of your job if you're taking care of me?" he hinted suggestively.

The blond narrowed his eyes at him. "Pervert," he mumbled, but he couldn't help but smile slightly. This meant that Seto was going to be okay.

But that didn't mean he'd let the brunet take advantage and cop a feel every two seconds…like he was doing now. Perhaps he'd let it slide just this once.

Or twice.

Or—

"Seto?"

"Yes, Puppy?" the brunet responded, smirking at him again.

"If the kids ask, ya got beat up by a bully."

Well, _that_ ruined the mood.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	20. 3rd Saturday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 20 – Saturday**

"You're making Seto stay bedridden?" Mokuba asked. He wanted to make sure that what Joey had said…was _actually_ what he had said.

"Yes," the blond replied.

Serenity and Mokuba glanced at each other with worried looks in their eyes. The brunet was not going to like this. No way.

"He…doesn't really have to stay bedridden, does he? I mean, we can just keep all the blinds closed and stuff," started Serenity. Even _she_ knew that Seto would kick and scream if he were forced to stay in bed all day.

"I don't really want him movin' around too much. The injury was to his head. Sure, his vision is a bit messed up for now, but if he has a dizzy spell or somethin', I'd rather it happen in the bedroom than when he's goin' down stairs or somethin'," Joey insisted.

"Then can we at least spend the day—and maybe the night, too—at a friend's house?" pleaded Mokuba. He really didn't want to be here when Seto exploded over being confined to a single room.

The blond sighed, hands on his hips. "Where?"

"Yugi's," the two answered in sync.

"All right. Fine," Joey gave in.

"Yes!" they cried, giving each other high-fives.

* * *

Legos. Why the fucking hell did it have to be Legos? And why the fucking hell did Jaden and Blair have to dump them out all over the damn bed?

Well, Seto supposed he shouldn't be the one to complain. They were just trying to make him feel better. Since he'd been dubbed as 'bedridden' by his Puppy, Jaden and Blair had decided to take it upon themselves to cheer him up.

But he was still having a hard time figuring out how tiny pieces of plastic were supposed to be therapeutic. If anything, they only served to stress him out further. The brunet had lost about three pieces on the bed—which had been made—so they should have been easy to find, right?

Wrong! They were small, demonic nuisances that allowed you to find them when _they _saw fit. Not the other way around. Whoever had invented Legos needed to be tortured and killed. Either that or informed that toys should _never _be made this small and in such unnoticeable colors.

To put it all simply, Seto did not like Legos. He despised Legos. But they seemed to make his children happy, so he supposed he couldn't complain.

But _still_. Messing with Legos all day had not been on his agenda. Especially in dim lighting!

So when Joey came in to notify the two young ones that it was bedtime, all Seto could do was sigh in relief. However, that didn't last for too long. Someone had to clean up the Legos.

* * *

Seto lay on the bed, his eyes closed as he listened to Joey rummaging around in the bathroom. What the fuck was he doing? Remodeling the damn thing? Oh, well. He was too tired to really care right now. Groaning slightly, he placed an arm over his eyes and tried to relax.

"Are you ready for your sponge bath, Seto?" came a soft purr from across the room. The brunet froze, somewhat afraid to look. That had been his Puppy, correct?

Removing his arm from his face, he opened his eyes and turned to face the blond. And when his eyes took him in, he felt an impending nosebleed that he didn't think he could stop.

Joey was dressed as a nurse. But not just any nurse. A classic, naughty nurse. The blond wore a white, vinyl hat with a red and white cross logo on the front with an imitation stethoscope around his neck. In addition to that, he wore a white, vinyl short sleeved dress that went down to mid-thigh. It buttoned up in the front for closure, allowing the wearer to reveal as much as they wanted to. There were two pockets sewn onto the hips with identical cross logos, and white stockings that ran up his thighs, red bows with white crosses hemmed at the top.

"You actually did it?" Seto stated breathlessly as he sat up on the bed, staring at his sexy Puppy in shock. "Wait. Are you serious about the sponge bath?"

The blond smirked and sauntered over to the bed. "Do ya have a problem with that? Serenity and Mokuba are spendin' the night at Yugi's, Jaden and Blair are in bed…sound asleep, and I have _you _all to myself."

"You do, do you?" replied the brunet with a curved smile.

Joey nodded. "And if ya don't behave while I give ya your sponge bath, I just might have to restrain ya. Ya wouldn't want that, would ya?"

"That might depend," Seto growled mischievously.

"You're aware that a sponge bath is all you're gettin', right?" Joey deadpanned.

The brunet frowned. "Like hell that's all I'm getting!"

"Seto," the blond sighed, planting his knees on the bed. He ran his hands up the brunet's thighs until they reached the hem of his pants, causing Seto to lie back down. Slowly unbuttoning them, he slipped the pants down his long legs and dropped them on the floor. Next, he crawled up the bed until he was straddling Seto's waist. His hands started working away at the brunet's shirt until he exposed the pale skin beneath.

And then he got off the bed and went back into the bathroom.

Mumbling in annoyance at being teased, he refocused his attention on Joey went he reentered the bedroom, carrying a bowl and a…sponge. So he _was _serious.

"I don't think I want a sponge bath anymore," Seto grumbled.

"Hm? And why is that?" the blond replied.

"Because you're going to get me all worked up and then you're going to stop and say I need my rest. Then you'll leave and sleep in another room or something, knowing I can't come after you because all the blinds are probably pulled up."

"Seto, it's nighttime. Which means it's dark. Ya could follow me wherever."

The brunet stared at him blankly a time or two before responding. "You make me stupid," he grumbled.

Joey laughed and set the bowl down on the nightstand. He flopped onto the bed next to Seto and tossed the nurse hat and stethoscope onto the floor. Snuggling up against him, he let his hands trace patterns on the brunet's torso.

"I love ya, Seto."

"I love you, too," he replied, pulling Joey into his arms while giving a contented sigh. "Can I take this dress off you?"

"Ya just can't let a romantic moment pass without a perverted comment, can ya?"

Seto paused. "Can I at least take your stockings off then?"

The blond glared at him.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	21. 3rd Sunday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 21 – Sunday**

Joey felt like he was on autopilot as he got up that morning. Being as quiet as possible, he'd changed into something more fitting to romp around at home in—also known as chasing-after-the-kids wear—and meandered over to the window, opening the curtains while shedding light into the room.

It was only when the blond heard Seto hiss that his brain became fully functional.

"Shit! I'm sorry, Seto!" he cried out as he made to close the curtains.

"Leave it," the brunet ground out, sitting up in the bed. He slowly opened his eyes and gradually let them adjust to the blinding light that filtered into their bedroom. Ever so slowly, his eyes adjusted…partly. He couldn't look at anything _too _bright, but his vision was good enough to make his way around without having all the blinds closed in the mansion.

"Are ya okay?" Joey asked, slightly perturbed.

"I'm fine. I'm a lot better today than yesterday. Of _that_, I'm sure," he replied as he rose from the bed and wandered into the bathroom. Doing his morning routine, he came out, feeling quite refreshed.

"Ya look good today," the blond commented, inspecting his lover from head to toe. "I guess this means we won't have to stumble over toys in the dark anymore."

Seto grunted in response. And speaking of toys, he was going to throw out their bed set and get something brand new. He could have sworn he'd come across at least three very different Legos in weird places during the night. So it was just best to throw it all out…and ban Legos from every stepping foot in this room again.

"Why are ya glarin' at the bed?" Joey inquired, slightly confused.

The brunet immediately realized what he was doing and stopped. "I wasn't glaring at the bed, but rather, what's lying hidden _in _the bed."

"Legos?"

"Yes."

That explained everything.

* * *

Jaden and Blair had just discovered gravity, using their breakfast of Cheerios as the subject for the experiment. It had all started out so innocently. Jaden had accidentally hit his spoon while it was still in the bowl, sending the contents flying onto the floor. After Joey cleaned up the mess and gave the small boy a new spoon, Jaden took it upon himself to try that little action again…but with aim. And since Blair had been watching him intently, she decided to follow his example.

When a child discovers they can throw things, especially when wet or mushy, it only gives them more reason to continue throwing things. And when said things make weird noises and strange designs when they hit their intended target, it makes the experience all the more worthwhile.

So when Seto entered the kitchen, only to find himself with Cheerios and milk splattered on his face as a morning greeting, he sighed.

"No, no, no. We don't throw our food," interceded Joey, trying to get the two small children to stop.

The brunet inwardly smirked, remembering that it was this very blond who'd started many food fights in the cafeteria at school. And look at him now.

"Maybe it's about time we give them a _reason _to throw something," started Seto, helping Joey clean up the cereal induced battlefield.

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean…like playing catch or something. If they throw something else for awhile, they might not be inclined to throw something _else_," replied the brunet.

"I think that's a good idea."

Joey threw his dishtowel into the sink and headed out of the kitchen when he heard the phone ring. And a few minutes later, he returned with a strange expression on his face.

"Is something wrong?" asked Seto as he released the kids to go play.

"I think this is the first time I've realized how much things have changed," he stated softly, sitting down.

"How so?" Seto took a seat beside him.

"Yugi just called…and he said that everyone's going to be leavin' after tomorrow."

"Where to?"

The blond chuckled. "To go off and experience life in their own way. Yugi asked that we have a little goin'-away party here tomorrow before everyone sets off. And we'll get the details of where everyone's goin' then, too, I suppose."

"Oh." That really did put things in perspective. It was only natural that everyone would go their separate ways. They'd graduated from high school and it was summer. And…with all the drama everyone had gone through as of late, it was only natural for them to want to get away from everything for a bit.

"It'll just be us and the kids for awhile then. At least until the holidays come around. Yugi said that they all promised to come around for Thanksgiving and Christmas and stuff. So we'll have to plan big to welcome them home," Joey said, moving to sit in Seto's lap.

The brunet wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him close, resting his chin on the blond's shoulder.

"Things changes," Seto stated simply. "You can't stop it."

"I never said I wanted to," Joey replied thoughtfully. "It's just…made me cherish the moments I've had with them all the more. And nothin's endin'. Not really, anyway. The time we've all spent together might be endin', but _in _that endin'…we're all startin' with new beginnin's. And the bonds we share will always remain."

"I agree," the brunet replied quietly. "Besides…the future is always something to look forward to."

_Crash!_

"Oops!" cried Jaden.

Joey slid off his lover's lap as he stood. Hand in hand, they headed out of the kitchen.

"Come on. Let's go take care of our _future_," Seto said, amusement lighting up his face.

The blond smiled and leaned into him. Their future was definitely something to look forward to.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	22. 4th Monday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Monday**

"You're lying to me," Bakura deadpanned, eyeing his boyfriend suspiciously.

Ryou resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Why would I lie to you about something like this?"

"Because…" The former thief paused, trying to come up with an answer. "Because," he tried again, "you're testing me."

"Testing you," Ryou echoed.

"Exactly! You are just saying I can do this to see if I'll actually do it or not. You might be saying yes, but you're really saying no."

Ryou turned to look at Joey helplessly. The blond, in response, rolled his eyes, about to intervene when a water balloon came hurling past him and nailed Bakura in the crotch. Upon impact, it exploded and generously dowsed the front of the former thief's pants.

Bakura was speechless. He gawked down at himself in horror, but that soon ceased when he heard Yami burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. "You'll pay for that!" Bakura roared, grabbing a water balloon from the bucket beside him and chasing after the cackling former pharaoh.

"So he wouldn't believe ya when ya said he could throw those at people?" inquired Joey.

"Nope," replied Ryou as they watched the water balloon Bakura had thrown smack into Yami's head. "But it will make things interesting when he discovers he can throw snowballs come winter."

Joey inwardly chuckled, excited to see that when it happened. But then his mood became saddened. Today was the last day he'd see his friends until the holidays. And with everyone currently at the Kaiba Mansion for this little farewell party, he couldn't help but wish the day would never end.

"They'll be here come Christmas," announced Seto, noticing the forlorn look on Joey's face.

"Thanksgivin'," the blond responded immediately. "I know it's an American holiday, but I want to expose Jaden and Blair to American traditions since that's part of my heritage."

"That's fine."

"You're okay with that?" Joey replied, somewhat surprised.

"Why wouldn't I be? I'd prefer it if our children were well-rounded in the cultures of the world."

The blond threw his arms around his neck and hugged him something fierce. "Thank ya."

"You're welcome," he replied softly. "But now that our home has been overrun by water balloon throwing imbeciles, I suggest we put a temporary end to it so we can get things under way."

"Things? What things?"

"Like finding out where everyone's headed off to."

"Oh. Right," said Joey. Next, they got everyone together where they would have their last real conversation until the holidays.

Seto sat down with Blair in his lap, while Jaden had climbed up into Joey's, their siblings and friends gathered around them.

"Who wants to start?" asked Joey.

"I do!" piped up Tea. "I'm going to New York to attend a prestigious dance school this fall. And…if it hadn't been for all of your support, I might not have achieved this dream."

Tristan was next. "I've decided to go to Domino Police Academy, so you're not getting rid of me yet. But, had it not been for the tough spots we've been in over the years, I never would have considered it."

"You want to be a cop?" Duke asked, dumbfounded.

"Sort of. They have a branch off program where I can get into security."

"Well, once you finish, give me a call. I could probably use a head of security in the future. Dungeon Dice Monsters has been officially signed with a video gaming company. And we're expanding to America."

"That's awesome, Duke!" interceded Joey.

"And Yugi and I have been requested to do some scouting on behalf of Kaiba," added Yami.

"What do ya mean?" replied the blond, eyeing his lover suspiciously.

"We're travelling the world in search of instructors for Duel Academy. It'll be a challenge, but we're up for it," answered Yugi.

"I thought that if anyone would be able to find worthy instructors, it would be them," Seto said, giving his two cents worth.

"And we're going to England!" Bakura shouted. "Ryou wants to do this whole European tour thing."

Ryou narrowed his eyes. "Actually, I'd decided to take a year off before returning to school. And travelling Europe seemed a good choice. It might open my eyes for what major I want to pursue. As for Bakura, he just wants to go treasure hunting."

"Treasure hunting?" inquired Tea, eyebrow raised.

"I have reason to believe that there are all sorts of buried treasures just waiting to be found," Bakura stated, rubbing his hands together greedily.

"Speaking of treasure hunting," started Malik, "Marik and I have been hired by Pegasus to do a little hunting of our own. Apparently, there have been rumors of hidden Duel Monsters. So we'll be searching for those in order for him to create new cards."

"It all sounds so exciting!" Serenity exclaimed delightedly.

"Yeah. I wish we could go," added Mokuba.

"Oh, believe me. You two will be having plenty of fun right here," Seto stated firmly.

"Huh?" they responded in unison.

"Someone has to test out the dueling exams before they're accredited."

"What? That's not fun!" Mokuba griped.

"I don't even know much about dueling!" protested Serenity.

"It's either that or develop a dueling prep school," the brunet deadpanned.

"We'll take the dueling prep school!" they chose immediately.

Seto was about to clarify that he'd been joking when Joey stopped him. "Give them a chance. They might surprise ya."

Huffing, the brunet conceded. "Fine."

"I'm glad we could have this last final get-together before everyone goes off," started Joey. "I know all of ya will do some amazin' things and start lives of your own. You'll see new places, meet new people, and make new friends. Just don't forget the bond we all share…between all of us."

"We could never forget that. Never," affirmed Yami.

Smiling at his family and friends, Joey took Seto's hand in his and turned his eyes to his lover before looking back down at their children. Times and situations might change, but the bonds they shared would always remain the same.

* * *

**End**


End file.
